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HISTORY 


DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  CODNTIES, 


INDIANA. 


FROM   THEIR    EARLIEST   SETTLEMENT. 


C01TT^I3Sri3SrC3- 


A   HISTORY   OF     THE     COUNTIES;   THEIR    CITIES,     TOWNSHIPS,   TOAVNS,   VILLAGES, 

SCHOOLS,    AND    CHURCHES;    REMINISCENCES,    EXTRACTS,     ETC.;     LOCAL 

STATISTICS;     PORTRAITS  OF  EARLY    SETTLERS  AND  PROMINENT 

men;   BIOGRAPHIES;     PRELIMINARY     CHAPTERS   ON    THE 

HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST  TERRITORY,  THE 

STATE  OF  INDIANA,  AND  THE  INDIANS. 


ILHiTTSTI^J^TEID. 


CHICAGO: 

F.  E.  WEAKLEY  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 

1885. 


Cu^  CHICAGO:  4     .) 

>^~^«  John  Morris  Company  *^^  * 
^  ^ printers. ^  j 


PREFACE. 


TT^HE  generation  of  hardy  men,  who  first  settled  the  region  comprising 
-L  the  counties  whose  history  is  given  in  this  vohime,  has  nearly  all  passed 
away.  The  names  and  deeds  of  those  who  encountered  the  perils  of  Indian 
warfare,  endured  the  privations  of  pioneer  life,  and,  with  rifles  by  their 
sides,  cleared  away  the  giants  of  the  forests,  rescuing  from  savages  and  wild 
beasts  the  lands  the  present  generation  possesses  in  peace,  should  not  be 
forgotten.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  give  the  history  of  their 
achievements,  and  to  record  the  growth  and  development  of  these  counties, 
that  the  present  and  future  generations  may  know  something  of  what  it  cost 
to  give  them  this  fair  land,  and  who  were  the  brave  men  and  noble  women 
who  converted  a  wilderness  into  the  smiling  region  we  now  behold. 

More  than  a  year  has  elapsed  since  the  prospectus  of  this  work  was 
issued.  This  period  has  been  spent  in  its  preparation,  during  which  every 
township  and  neighborhood  have  been  visited  and  information  obtained  by 
conversation  with  old  residents  and  men  of  intelligence.  Several  hundred 
manuscript  pages  have  been  received  from  gentlemen  in  various  parts  of  the 
counties.  The  compilers  have  explored  the  original  records  of  the  counties 
and  availed  themselves  of  all  published  sources  of  information.  They  have 
searched  out  every  book,  pamphlet  and  document  relating  to  the  history  of 
southeast  Indiana  in  the  State  Library  at  Indianapolis,  the  library  of  the 
Ohio  Historical  and  Philosophical  Society  at  Cincinnati,  and  the  public 
libraries  at  Indianapolis  and  Cincinnati.  In  this  way  they  have  been  enabled 
to  present  a  larger  and  more  varied  amount  of  historical  matter  concerning 
the  region  along  the  Ohio  and  west  of  the  Great  Miami,  than  was  ever 
before  embodied  in  a  single  volume. 

The  five  preliminary  chapters  were  prepared  for  this  work,  and  will  be 
found  to  contain  facts  concerning  the  early  history  of  Indiana,  not  given 
in  any  history  of  the  State  yet  pu.blished. 

The  township  histories  are  designed  to  chronicle  annals  of  each  neigh- 
borhood, thus  rescuing  fi'om  oblivion  much  interesting  and  valuable  local 
history  that  would  otherwise  be  lost  through  the  death  of  early  settlers,  and 
the  ravages  of  time. 

The  biographies,  at  the  close  of  the  history  of  the  counties,  are  arranged 
in  alphabetical  order.  They  were  prepared,  for  the  most  part,  by  the  can- 
vassing agents  of  the  publishers.      These  sketches  may  be  found  in  succeed- 


vi  PREFACE. 

ing  years  to  possess  an  interest  and  value  which  will  cause  the  book  to  be 
much  sought  after  by  exploi-ers  in  genealogies  and  family  histories. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  chapters  on  "The  Miami  Purchase"  and 
'  'Indian  Depredations' '  the  writers  have  had  the  aid  of  the  valuable  papers 
of  the  late  Dr.  Ezra  Ferris,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  whose  sketches  have  never 
been  published  in  book  form.  They  relate  chiefly  to  the  first  six  years  of 
the  settlement  between  the  Miami  Rivers.  It  is  believed  that  every  import- 
ant fact  contained  in  them  concerning  the  early  history  of  the  country  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages.  The 
printed  sketches  and  manuscripts  of  Geo.  W.  Lane,  who  has  long  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  the  pioneer  history  of  Dearborn  County,  have  been  freely 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  i^ublishers.  We  also  desire  to  express  bur 
obligations  to  the  venerable  Samuel  Morrison,  of  Indianapolis,  George  Sut- 
ton, M.  D. ,  of  Aurora,  and  Samuel  F.  Covington,  of  Cincinnati. 

The  writers  have  faithfully  aimed  at  accuracy,  but  he  who  expects  to  find 
the  work  entirely  free  from  errors  or  defects,  has  little  knowledge  of  the 
difficulties  attending  the  preparation  of  a  work  of  this  kind.  Some  errors 
ai*e  unavoidable.  The  publishers  trust  that  the  book  will  be  received  in  a 
generous  spirit,  which  is  gratified  at  honest  efForts,  and  not  in  a  captious 
spirit. 

To  county,  town,  and  township  officers,  editors,  members  of  the  bar, 
physicians  and  many  intelligent  citizens,  the  publishers  are  indebted  for 
favors  and  generous  assistance.  The  Publishers. 


CONTENTS. 


iz 


PAGE. 

Sketches  of  Some  Deceased  Physicians 165 

Dr.  Jabez  Pereival 165 

Dr.  Ezra  Ferris 168 

Dr.  Jeremiah  H.  Browor 167 

Dr.  David  Fisher 169 

Dr.  Mathias  Haines 170 

Dr.  Henry  J.  Bowers "  173 

Dr.  Nelson  Horatio  Torbet, 173 

Dr.  Basil  James 173 

Dr.  Robert  Gillespie 174 

Dr.  Hugh  T.Williams 174 

Dr.  Myron  H.  Harding 174 

CHAPTER  XL— Journalism. 

The  Dearborn  Gazette 176 

The  Indiana  Oracle 176 

The  Indiana  Palladium 177 

The  Western  Statesman 177 

The  Political  Beacon 179 

The  Indiana  Whig :; 180 

The  Democratic  Register 181 

The  Independent  Press 181 

The  Lawrenceburgh  Press 182 

The  Indiana  Signal 182 

The  Dearborn  Democrat 182 

The  Western  Republican 182 

The  Western  Commercial 182 

The  Aurora  Standard 183 

The  Independent  Banuer 183 

The  Aurora  Commercial 183 

The  People's  Advocate 183 

The  Dearborn  Independent 183 

The  Aurora  Spectator 183 

The  Rising  Sun 184 

The  Rising  Sun  Times  and  Farmer's  Journal  184 

The  Rising  Sun  Journal 184 

The  Indiana  Patriot 185 

The  Indiana  Blade 185 

The  Indiana  Whig 186 

The  Rising  Sun  Herald 187 

The  Rising  Sun  Mirror 187 

The  Hoosier  Patriot 187 

The  Indiana  Republican 187 

The  Neutral  Penant 187 

The  Indiana  Weekly  Visitor 187 

The  Hoosier  Paper 188 

The  Observer  and  Recorder 189 

The  Ohio  County  Recorder 190 

The  Saturday  News 190 

The  Rising  Sun  Local 190 

CHAPTER  XIL— Ohio  River  Floods. 

Climate  of  the  Ohio  Valley 191 

Effect  of  the  Removal  of  Forests  on  Floods...  191 

The  Flood  of  1788-89 192 

An  old  Memorandum 192 

The  Flood  of  1832 192 

The  Flood  of  1847 194 

The  Flood  of  1882 194 

The  Flood  of  1883 196 

The  Flood  of  1884 197 

Relief  of  Sufferers  at  Lawrenceburgh 198 

Table  of  High  Water  Marks 198 

CHAPTER  XIII.— Military  History. 

Revolutionary    Soldiers    in   Dearborn    and 

Ohio  Counties 199 

Dearborn  Countv  in  the  War  of  1812 200 

Namesot  Soldiers  of  the  War  of  1812 201 

The  Mexican  War 202 

The  Civil  War 203 

Dearborn  County  in  the  Civil  War 203 

Company  I,  Seventy-seventh  IndianaVolun- 

teer  Infantry  (three  months' service) 208 

The     Seventy-seventh     Regiment      (three 

months'  service) 208 

Company  C,  Seventh  Regiment  (three  yeans' 

service; '..  209 

The  Seventh  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer 

Infantry 210 

Company  C, Eighty-third  Indiana  Volunteer 

Infantry 211 

The  Eighty-third  Regiment  Infantry 212 


PAGE. 

The  Second  Battery  Light  Artillery 214 

Company  B,  Fourth  Cavalry 216 

The  Seventy-seventh  Regiment 216 

The  Morgan  Raid 219 

Unfortunate  Occurrence  During  the  Raid...  222 

Drafts  and  Bounties 223 

Tabular  Account  of  County  Expenditures...  224 

Aid  Societies 224 

Closing  Scenes  of  the  War 225 


'HAPTER  XIV.— List  of  Officers. 

Territorial  Judges  of  Dearborn  County 226 

Circuit  Judges 226 

tJommou  I'leas  Judges 227 

Associate  Judges 227 

Probate  Judges 227 

Members  of  Territoral  Legislature 227 

Members  of  Constitutional  Conventions 228 

Members  of  State  IjCgislature 228 

Board  of  Magistrates  and  County   (Commis- 
sioners   230 

Treasurers 231 

Clerks 232 

Recorders 232 

Sheriffs 233 

Auditors 233 

United  States  Officers 233 

State  Officers 234 

Ohio  County  Officers 234 

Circuit  Judges 234 

Common  Pleas  Judges 234 

Associate  Judges 235 

Probate  Judges 235 

.Sheriffs 235 

Recorders 235 

Clerks 236 

Auditors 236 

Treasurers 236 

County  Commissioners 236 

Members  of  the  State  Legislature 237 


CHAPTER  XV.— City  of  Lawrenceburgh. 

Lawrenceburgh  Laid  Out 

Origin  of  its  Name 

Capt.  Samuel  C.  Vance 

Newtown  Laid  Out 

Edenborough 

Early   History  and  Progress  ol    I    ^\lcnLC- 

burgb 

Principal  Citizens  in  1813 

The  Town  Described  in  1815 

Horse-thief  Hanged  near  Tannti  s  <  let  k 

The  Anderson  House 

Lawrenceburgh  Sunday-school  Socittv 

Daniel  Brown 

Celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  Julv  in  18') 

Business  Interests  in  1826 

Lawrenceburgh  in  1828  Deecribed 

The  Murder  of  Palmer  Warren 

Trial,  Conviction  and  Execution  o(    Vm  isa 

Fuller 

Progress  of  the  City  from  ISl'.o  to  ls4ii 

Independence  Day,  1831 

Lawrenceburgh  a  City 

Cirowth  and  Progress 

Odd  Fellows'  Building 

Business  of  the  City— 18.58-59 

Banks 

Great  Fire,  July  4,  iscc, 

Churches 

Methodist  Episcopal  <  hurch 

Baptist  Church 

First  Presbyterian  Church 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  Lawrenceburgh 

Catholic  Church 

German  Evangelical  Zion  Church 

Lutheran  St.  John's  Church 

German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

Christian  Church 

Trinity  Episcopal  Church 

Early  Schools 

Graded  Schools 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

High  School 281 

Leading  Manufacturing  Interests 283 

Gas  Works 297 

Fire  Department 297 

Societies 299 

""^^-^Old  Landmarks 301 

Centennial  Fourth  of  July 302 

CHAPTER  XVI.— OiTY  of  Aurora. 

Aurora  Laid  Out 303 

Aurora  Association  for  Internal  Improve- 
ments   304 

First  Sale  of  Lots 305 

Early  History  of  the  Village 306 

Reminiscences 309 

First  Magistrate  of  Aurora 311 

Mayors  of  the  City 314 

Telegraph  and  Telephone 315 

Business  Exhibit  in  18.58-59 315 

(jirowth  and  Progress 317 

Great  Fire  of  1882 320 

Floods 321 

Schools 324 

Fire  Department 327 

Churches 328 

Baptist  Church 328 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 331 

Presbyterian  Church 332 

St.  John's  Lutheran  Church 333 

Catholic  Church 334 

German  Reformed  Church 335 

St.  Mark's  Episcopal  Church 335 

Christian  Church 336 

Leading  Jlanufacturing  Interests 338 

Grand  Opera  House 352 

Postmasters 353 

Societies 353 

CHAPTER  XVII.— City  of  Rising  Sitn. 

Location 355 

Origin 3.56 

Founders  of  Rising  Sun 357 

The  Early  Village 3.58 

First  Merchant 359 

Incorporation 360 

Independence  Day,  l.s34 360 

The  Town  in  183.5-36 361 

Main  and  Front  Streets  in  1833 363 

Pen  Picture  of  the  Town  in  1845 369 

Steam-boat  Building  and  Boating 374 

Early  Postmasters 370 

Telegraph 377 

Leading  Manufacturing  Interests 377 

National  Bank 382 

Churches  382 

Methodist  EpiscopaRhurch 382 

Presbyterian  Church 384 

Christian  Church 385 

TTuiversalist  Church 386 

Baptist  Church 386 

(German  Reformed  Church .• 386 

Shiloh  Baptist  Church 387 

Schools 387 

Rising  Sun  Seminary 389 

(iraded  Schools 396 

Great  Fire  of  1866 397 

Fire  of  1885 398 

Cemeteries 399 

Societies 400 

Rising  Sun  Insurance  Company 402 

Flat-boat  Insurance 405 

Centennial  1 'ourth  of  July 407 

CHAPTER  XVIII.— Lawrenceburgii  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 409 

First  Land  Sales 410 

Pioneers  and  Pioneer  Settlement.? 411 

Incidents  of  Pioneer  Times 418 

Antiquities 420 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 421 

Mills  and  Distilleries.. '. 423 

Hardinsburgh  424 

Greendale 424 


CHAPTER  XIX.-Center  Township.  ^^^^' 

\     Organization  and  Boundaries 425 

^  First  Land  Sales [  496 

Early  Settlement '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  427 

Pioneer  Reminiscences 428 

"Saw-mill,"  the  Indian 432 

Early  Religious  and  Educational  Notes 4.34 

Cochran 434 

River  View  Cemetery 4.36 

CHAPTER  XX.— Randolph  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 437 

^  ,    Land  Entries .' 437 

"-    Pioneers  and  PiuneiT  Settlmients 439 

The  Fultons 440 

The  Brown  Family  445 

North's  Landing...! 450 

ilillersburgh .'  452 

Mills  and  Distilleries 453 

Schools,  Churches  aud  (aaveyards 454 

CHAPTER  XXL— Miller  Township. 

Boundaries  aud  Organization 456 

Government  Land  Sales- 457 

V    Pioneer  Settlements 458 

-sj      Notes  on  the  Early  Settlers 461 

Mills '. 463 

Schools,  Churches,  Crraveyards 464 

CHAPTER  XXII.— Union  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 467 

Original  Land  Purchases 467 

Early  Settlements 468 

An  Indian  Story 470 

Mills  and  Distilleries 471 

First  Schools 471 

Churche.s  and  Graveyards 472 

Mounds 473 

Milton 474 

Hartford 476 

Miscellaneous 477 

CHAPTER  XXIIL— Hogan  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 478 

Original  Ljvnd  Sales 478 

Early  Settlements 479 

Notes  on  the  Early  Settlers  482 

Early  Schools  and  Industries 484 

Churches  and  Graveyards 485 

Wilmington 486 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— VVashington  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 489 

Land  Entries ." 489 

Early  Settlements 490 

Notes  on  Early  Settlers 491 

Early  Schools.. 493 

Churches  and  Graveyards 494 

CHAPTER  XXV.— Clay  Township. 

Organization  and  Boundaries 495 

First  Land  Sales 496 

Early  Settlement 498 

Reminiscences  of  Laughery 500 

Mills 503 

Schools,  Churches  aud  Graveyards 503 

DUlsborough 505 

CHAPTER  XXVI.— Cesar  Creek  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 507 

Original  Land  Sales 507 

Pioneer  Settlements 508 

Noteson  FirstSettlers 510 

First  Schools 511 

Early  Mills 512 

Churches  and  Graveyards 512 

Farmers'  Retreat 514 


CONTENTS. 


xi 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER  XXVII.— Pike  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 514 

First  Land  Sales 515 

Early  Settlements 516 

Early  Industries 518 

Churches,  Schools  and  Graveyards 519 

Freedom,  or  Cole's  Corners 521 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.— Harrison  Township. 

Organization  and  Boundaries 522 

First  Land  Sales 522 

Early  Settlements 523 

Mills  and  Distilleries 527 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 528 

Harrison 533 

Ancient  Remains  at  Harrison 534 

CHAPTER  XXIX.— Manchester  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 537 

First  Land  Sales 537 

Early  Settlements  and  Pioneer  Merchants...  541 

Churches,  Schools  and  Graveyards 549 

Mills  and  Other  Industries 552 

Hamlets 554 

CHAPTER  XXX.— Sparta  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 656 

Original  Land  Sales 556 

Early  Settlements  and  Events 559 

Industries 561 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 561 

Moore's  Hill 564 

Moore's  Hill  College 567 

CHAPTER  \  XXL— York  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 569 

Government  Land  Sales 569 


PAGE. 

Early  Settlements 571 

Mills 573 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 573 

Yorkville 576 

CHAPTER  XXXIL— Kelso  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 577 

(iovernment  Land  Sales 577 

Early  Settlement 579 

Dover 579 

New  Alsace 581 

St.  Leon 582 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.— Cass  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 584 

Government  Land  Sales 584 

Pioneer  Settlements,  Incidents  and  Tradi- 
tions  585 

Industries 589 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 589 

Aberdeen 591 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.— Jackson  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 592 

Early  Settlements 595 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 596 

Industries 598 

Hamlets 599 

CHAPTER  XXXV.— Logan  Township. 

Boundaries  and  Organization 600 

Government  Land  Sales 600 

Early  Settlers 602 

Mills 6C2 

Schools,  Churches  and  Graveyards 603 

Logan  Cross  Roads 604 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.' 


Biographies  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties, 

Alphabetically  Arranged 605-987 


ies  out  of   place : 
bhn  Smith 


Vincenes  Frank. 


PORTRAITS. 


William  S.  Holman 

James  H.  Lane 

William  D.  H.  Hunter.. 
George  Sutton 


Myron  H.  Harding 171 

John  Hornberger Facing  296 

Shadrach  Hathaway Facing  355 


Lawrenceburgh  in  the  Flood. 


VIEWS. 

.Facing  191    |    Dearborn  County  Court  House 240 


*In  the  various  Township  Histories  under  the  head  of  Early  Settlers,  Pioneers  or  a  similar  heading 
appear  references  to,  and  short  sketches  of  many  of  the  early  residents  of  the  Counties  of  Dearborn  and 
Ohio  not  given  in  this  department  of  the  volume. 


PRELIMINARY  CHAPTERS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

The  Title  of  Virginia  to  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio-The 
French  IN  Indiana-Gen.  Clark's  Eeduction  of  the  British  Posts 
-Organization  of  the  Northwest  Territory-First  Counties  in 
Indiana-Knox  County-Gen.  Clark's  Expedition  Against  the 
Wabash  Indians-Gen.  Charles  Scott's  Expedition-Col.  James 
Wilkinson's  Expedition-Gen.  Josiah  Harmar's  Expedition-St. 
Clair's  Defeat— Wayne's  Victory. 

INDIANA,  as  a  civil  division  bearing  the  name,  dates  its  existence 
from  July  4,1800,  when  the  act  of  Congress  creating  Indiana  Terri- 
tory went  into  effect.  It  then  included  Michigan,  Illinois  and  Wisconsin. 
The  United  States  census  of  1800  found  in  Indiana  5,641  inhabitants. 
In  1805  Michigan  Territory  was  struck  off,  and,  in  1809,  Illinois;  from 
the  latter  year  Indiana  dates  its  present  limits.  December  11,  1816, 
the  Territory  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State.  From  its  first 
exploration  by  white  men  Indiana  constituted  a  part  of  New  France  until 
1763,  when  it  was  ceded  by  the  French  to  the  English.  In  the  treaty  of 
1783' Indiana  was  included  in  the  territory  yielded  by  Great  Britain  to 
the  United  States.  While  it  belonged  to  the  English  it  was  part  of  the 
colony  of  Virginia,  and  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Virginia  in 
1784,  from  which  time  until  the  formation  of  Indiana  Territory,  it 
formed  a  part  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Virginia  acquired  title  to  the  great  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  by 
its  several  charters  from  James  I,  and  especially  from  the  one  bearing 
date  of  May  23,1609,  in  which  were  granted  all  the  territory  along  the  coast 
for  400  miles,  and  extending  "up  into  the  land  throughout  from  sea  to 
sea."  Virginia  first  attempted  to  exercise  authority  over  this  vast  domain  in 
1769,  when  the  House  of  Burgesses  passed  an  act  establishing  the 
county  of  Botetourt,  with  the  Mississippi  River  as  its  western  boundary. 


20  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

Fincastle,  Va.,  was  the  seat  of  justice  of  this  extensive  county.  In 
October,  1788,  a  Virginia  statute  provided  that  "all  the  citizens  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  who  are  already  settled,  or  shall  hereafter 
settle  on  the  western  side  of  the  Ohio,  shall  be  included  in  a  distinct 
county,  which  shall  be  called  Illinois  County.''  Col.  John  Todd  served 
under  appointment  of  the  governor  of  Virginia  as  civil  commandant 
and  lieutenant  of  Illinois,  until  his  death  at  the  battle  of  Blue  Licks  in 
1782. 

THE    FKENCH    IN    INDIANA. 

The  first  explorations  and  settlements  of  the  whites  were  by  the 
French,  and  were  the  results  of  the  enterprise  of  La  Salle,  who  set  out 
from  Canada  in  1G79,  and  passing  across  the  lakes  descended  the  Illinois 
River.  The  Indians  inhabiting  the  country  at  that  time  seem  to  have 
made  little  or  no  opposition  to  its  occupancy  by  the  new-comers,  and 
several  important  French  towns  were  established  on  the  Illinois  and 
Wabash  before  the  eighteenth  century  was  far  advanced.  The  missions 
and  settlements  of  the  French  were  of  necessity  established  along  the 
routes  of  travel  from  Canada  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The  only 
mode  of  travel  was  by  canoes.  Among  the  portages  over  which  the 
French  carried  their  canoes  from  one  navigable  river  to  another,  one 
was  of  three  miles'  length  in  St.  Joseph  County,  Ind.,  from  the  St. 
Joseph  River  to  the  Kankakee;  another  was  from  the  Maumee  near  Fort 
Wayne  to  the  Wabash. 

The  exact  period  of  the  first  French  settlements  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained. Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  a  party  of  French  Canadians 
descended  the  Wabash,  and  several  settlements  were  soon  established 
along  its  banks,  among  others  Vincennes.  Many  dates  have  been  given 
of  the  establishment  of  Vincennes,  some  of  which  are  mere  conjectures. 
Volney  conjectured  the  settlement  to  have  been  made  about  1735;  Bishop 
Brute  speaks  of  a  missionary  station  there  in  1700;  Bancroft  says  a 
military  post  was  formed  there  in  1716,  and  in  1742  a  settlement  of 
herdsmen  was  made;  Judge  Law  dates  the  post  back  to  1710  or  1711, 
and  the  New  American  Cyclopedia  says  the  party  of  French  Canadians 
descended  the  Wabash  in  1702  and  established  towns  along  the  river. 
At  one  time  the  French  settlements  were  represented  as  in  a  flourishing 
condition  and  this  part  of  New  France  was  described  as  a  new  paradise, 
but  the  settlers  degenerated,  became  ignorant  and  slothful,  and  but  little 
superior  to  the  Indians  among  whom  they  lived. 

GEN.  Clark's  reduction  of  the  British  posts. 
During  the  Revolution  most  of  the  Western  Indians  adhered   to  the 
British.     The  possession  by  the  British  of  the  posts    established    by  the 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  21 

French  at  Detroit,  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes  gave  them  easy  and  con- 
stant access  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Northwest.  The  bold  plan  of 
defeating  and  expelling  the  British  from  their  Western  posts  was  con- 
ceived and  brilliantly  executed  by  a  Kentucky  backwoodsman,  George 
Rogers  Clark.  By  spies  seut  for  the  purpose,  who  were  absent  from 
April  20  to  June  22,  1777,  Clark  satisfied  himself  that  an  enterprise 
against  the  Western  settlements  might  easily  be  successful.  He  went  to 
Virginia  and  submitted  his  plans  to  the  government  of  that  State.  Gov. 
Patrick  Henry  gave  him  written  instructions,  authorizing  him  to  enlist . 
seven  companies  to  serve  under  his  orders  for  three  months.  Clark's 
rank  at  this  time  was  lieutenant  colonel.  He  raised  three  companies 
at  Pittsburgh,  and  descended  the  Ohio  to  the  falls,  where  he  was  joined 
by  another  company  of  Kentucky  recruits.  He  left  the  falls  with  four 
companies  on  the  24th  of  June,  1778,  during  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun. 
He  descended  the  river  to  Fort  Massac,  and  thence  proceeded  by  land 
to  Kaskaskia,  a  distance  of  over  100  miles.  Heavy  rains  had  fallen,  and 
were  succeeded  by  hot,  sultry  weather.  Their  route  lay  through  a  wil- 
derness without  a  path.  On  the  prairies  a  July  sun  beat  upon  them. 
Their  guide  became  bewildered.  On  the  4th  of  July  this  party  of  in- 
vaders, with  torn  and  soiled  garments  and  beards  of  three  weeks'  growth, 
came  in  sight  of  Kaskaskia.  The  town  contained  about  250  houses,  and 
the  inhabitants  were  mostly  French.  Clark  sent  forward  some  of  his 
men  who  could  speak  French  to  pass  through  the  streets,  making  procla- 
mation that  all  the  inhabitants  must  keep  within  their  houses,  under 
penalty  of  being  shot  down  in  the  streets.  The  next  day  the  little  army 
of  invaders  marched  into  town  in  two  divisions,  and  in  two  hours  all  the 
inhabitants  surrendered  and  gave  up  their  arms.  Not  a  drop  of  blood 
was  shed,  but  the  victory  was  complete.  A  few  days  later  Clark  sent 
a  detachment  mounted  on  French  ponies  to  Cahokia,  thirty  miles  dis- 
tant, and  obtained  a  surrender  of  the  fort  and  garrison  at  that  point. 
An  embassy  was  sent  to  Vincennes,  and  in  a  few  days  the  American  flag 
was  floating  from  the  fort  and  the  French  inhabitants  brought  over  to 
the  United  States. 

Clark  was  compelled  to  leave  only  a  diminutive  force  to  hold  posses- 
sion of  Vincennes,  and  the  British  Lieutenant-Governor,  Henry  Hamilton, 
then  at  Detroit,  formed  the  plan  of  retaking  the|place,  in  which  he  suc- 
ceeded without  difficulty.  The  latter  had  a  considerable  force  of  British 
regulars,  French  volunteers  and  Indians.  Clark  with  his  main  force  was 
at  Kaskaskia,  and  his  position  one  of  great  peril.  His  number  of  men 
was  too  small  to  stand  a  siege  and  his  situation  too  remote  to  call  for  re- 
cruits. He  formed  the  bold  and  hazardous  scheme  of  capturing  Gov. 
Hamilton  and  retaking  Vincennes. 


22  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

February  7,  1779,  Col.  Clark  with  bis  little  army  commenced  its 
march  from  Kaskaskia  to  Vincennes.  Their  route  lay  through  prairies 
and  points  of  timber.  The  winter  was  unusually  wet,  and  the  streams 
all  hio-h.  On  the  13th  of  February  they  arrived  at  the  Little  Wabash 
and'Muddy  Rivers.  The  rains  fell  every  day,  and  here  the  men  were 
compelled  to  wade  to  their  waists,  and  sometimes  to  their  armpits  in  mud 
and  water.  On  the  18th,  eleven  days  after  their  departure,  they  heard 
the  morning  gun  of  the  fort  at  Vincennes.  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day  they  were  at  the  Wabash,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Embarjrass.  The 
party  was  now  in  an  exhausted  condition;  the  river  was  out  of  its  banks, 
and  all  the  low  grounds  covered  with  water.  Again  making  their  way 
through  deep  waters  they  arrived  in  full  view  of  the  town  a  little  before 
sunset  on  the  21st.  In  order  to  make  his  force  appear  formidable,  Clark 
ordered  his  men  to  march  and  countermarch  in  such  a  manner  that  from 
the  intervening  ground  the  enemy  were  led  to  count  them  twice  or  thrice. 
Ten  or  twelve  pairs  of  colors  were  so  displayed  on  long  poles  as  to  be 
seen  above  the  intervening  high  land,  and  from  a  distance  made  no  des- 
picable appearance.  Gov.  Hamilton  was  awed  into  a  surrender,  which 
was  formally  made  on  the  24th. 

The  expedition  of  Col.  Clark  was  not  excelled  in  difficulty,  daring 
and  heroic  endurance  by  any  during  the  Revolution.  The  march  from 
Kaskaskia  to  Vincennes  was  one  of  extraordinary  hardship  and  enterprise. 
The  whole  expedition  resulted  in  the  successful  reduction  of  all  the 
British  military  posts  between  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  gave  tranquility 
to  the  frontier  settlements,  and  secured  to  the  United  States  the  whole  of 
this  vast  territory.  The'^Virginia  Legislature  passed  a  complimentary 
resolution  to  Clark  and  his  men  for  their  victorious  campaign,  "whereby 
great  advantages  may  accrue  to  the  common  cause  of  America,  as  well  as 
to  this  commonwealth  in  particular. " 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

After  Virginia  and  other  States  had  ceded  to  the  United  States  their 
claims  of  jurisdiction  aad  soil  to  the  territory  lying  northwest  of  the 
Ohio,  it  became  necessary  for  Congress  to  establish  civil  government  in 
the  new  extensive  region.  Accordingly  in  the  summer  of  1787,  while 
the  convention  which  formed  the  constitution  was  in  session  at  Philadel- 
phia, Congress  at  New  York  passed  an  "Ordinance  for  the  government 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  River  Ohio," 
which  has  come  to  be  best  known  as  "The  Ordinance  of  '87."  This  was 
the  most  important  act  of  Congress  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
For  nearly  twenty-nine  years  it  was  the  fundamental  law  of  Indiana,  S. 
P.  Chase   in   his   history  of  Ohio  said  of  it:     "Never,  probably,  in  the 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 


23 


history  of  the  world,  did  a  measure  of  legislation  so  accurately  fulfill, 
and  yet  so  mightily  exceed  the  anticipations  of  the  legislators."  Its 
object^  was  declared  to  be  to  "extend  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  which  form  the  basis  whereon  these  republics,  their 
laws  and  constitutions  are  erected;  to  fix  and  establish  those  principles 
as  the  basis  of  all  laws,  constitutions  and  governments,  which  forever 
hereafter  shall  be  formed  in  the  said  territory;  to  provide  also  for  the 
establishment  of  States  and  permanent  government  therein,  and  for  their 
admission  to  a  share  in  the  federal  councils  on  an  equal  footing  with 
the  original  States  at  as  early  periods  as  may  be  consistent  with  the 
general  interest." 

The  territory  for  which  this  ordinance  provided  a  government  em- 
braced all  the  land  then  belonging  to  the  United  States  northwest  of 
the  Ohio.  It  extended  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Mississippi,  and  from 
the  Ohio  to  the  great  lakes.  Five  States  have  been  organized  from  it: 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  The  territorial  gov- 
ernment was  organized  soon  after  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  and  at 
first  was  vested  solely  in  a  governor  and  judges.  The  first  governor 
was  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  was  president  of  Congress  when 
appointed.  In  1788  he  entered  upon  his  duties  at  Marietta.  During 
the  continuance  of  the  first  grade  of  government,  there  was  no  capital  of 
the  territory  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term.  Laws  were  passed  by 
the  governor  and  judges  wherever  they  happened  to  be  assembled. 
Some  were   enacted  at  Marietta,  some  at  Cincinnati   and  a  few   at  Vm- 


cennes. 


CD. 

About  the  1st  of  January,  1790,  the  governor,  with  other  ofiScers, 
descended  the  Ohio  from  Marietta  to  Fort  Washington,  at  Cincin- 
nati, where  he  organized  Hamilton  County,  which  embraced  the  western 
part  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  On  the  8th  of  January,  the  governor  and 
secretary  arrived  at  Clarksville,  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  on  their  way  to 
Vincennes.  From  the  falls  they  proceeded  by  land  along  an  Indian  trail 
to  Vincen  nes,  where  they  organized  the  county  of  Knox,  the  fourth  county 
organized  in  the  Northwest  Territory.  It  comprised  all  the  territory 
along  the  Ohio  between  the  Great  Miami  and  the  Wabash.  Vincennes 
was  made  the  seat  of  justice.  Thence  they  proceeded  to  Kaskaskia,  and 
there  esta  blished  the  county  of  St.  Clair,  comprising  all  the  territory  from 
the  Wabash  to  the  Mississippi,  and  named  by  the  secretary  Winthrop 
Sargent,  in  [honor  of  the  governor.  Knox  and  St.  Clair  Counties  were 
organized  for  the  protection  of  the  French  inhabitants,  and  to  carry  into 
efifect  the  agreement  in  the  ordinance  of  1787  with  reference  to  the  pres- 
ervation of  their  rights  under  the  laws  and  customs  already  existing 
among  them.     At  Kaskaskia  the  governor  issued  a  proclamation,  calling 


24  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

upon  tbe  French  inhabitants  to  exhibit  the  titles  to  their  lands,  in  order 
to  have  them  examined  and  confirmed  and  their  lands  surveyed. 

GEN.  Clark's  expedition  against  the  wabash  Indians. 
The  first  important  expedition  which  passed  over  the  Territory  of 
Indiana  against  the  Indians  was  the  unsuccessful  one  of  George  Rogers 
Clark  against  the  Wabash  Indians  in  1786.  Many  depredations  had 
been  committed  in  Kentucky  by  marauding  bands  crossing  the  Ohio, 
plundering,  burning  and  scalping.  The  bands  were  chiefly  from  the 
Miamis  and  the  Wabash.  Congress  having  failed  in  its  efforts  to  secure 
peace  with  the  Indians  by  the  treaty  at  Fort  Finney,  ordered  two  com- 
panies down  the  Ohio  to  the  falls,  and  on  June  30,  1786,  authorized  the 
raising  of  militia  in  Kentucky  for  the  invasion  of  the  country  of  the 
hostile  tribes.  The  expedition  was  organized  into  two  parties,  one  under 
Gen.  Clark  to  march  against  the  Upper  Wabash  country,  the  other,  under 
Col.  Benjamin  Logan,  was  to  proceed  against  the  villages  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Great  Miami. 

Col.  Logan,  with  400  or  500  mounted  riflemen,  crossed  the  Ohio 
near  Maysville,  Ky.,  and  passing  northward  succeeded  in  destroying 
some  Indian  villages  in  what  is  now  Logan  County,  Ohio,  killing  about 
twenty  savages  and  taking  about  seventy  prisoners. 

Gen.  Clark  was  not  so  successful.  With  about  1,000  men  he  marched 
from  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  for  Vincennes,  and  arrived  near  that  place  in 
October.  His  supplies  were  to  be  forwarded  to  that  place  by  boats. 
Nine  boats  had  been  freighted  with  stores  to  descend  the  Ohio  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash,  and  then  to  ascend  to  Vincennes.  The  low  state 
of  the  water  retarded  the  arrival  of  the  boats.  The  army  lay  encamped 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  provisions.  Day  after  day  passed.  One  thou- 
sand hungry  men  consume  much  food.  The  men  were  put  on  short  allow- 
ance. Many  became  restless  and  mutinous.  At  last,  after  waiting  nine 
days,  the  boats  arrived,  but  to  their  disappointment  the  meat  was  found 
to  be  spoiled  by  the  hot  weather.  There  ^were  sound  rations  for  only 
three  days,  and  there  was  a  march  before  them  of  200  miles.  The  mu- 
tinous spirit  became  more  apparent.  Gen.  Clark  urged  an  immediate 
and  rapid  advance.  The  Kentucky  Volunteers  were  re-enforced  by  a 
number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vincennes,  and  the  army  started  on  its 
march  up  the  Wabash.  On  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Vermillion,  it  was 
found  that  the  Indians  had  deserted  their  villages  on  that  stream.  Dis- 
appointment, hunger  and  fatigue  now  led  to  open  mutiny,  and  300  men, 
with  some  oflficers  of  high  I'ank,  mounted  their  horses  and  left  for  their 
homes.  Neither  the  commands,  the  entreaties,  nor  the  tears  of  the  com- 
manding general  could  avail.     Nothing  was  left  to  Clark  but  the  aban- 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  25 

donment  of  the  expedition.  With  the  remainder  of  his  half- starved  men, 
the  unfortunate  commander  ^worked  his  way  back  to  the  falls,  covered 
with  shame  and  confusion.  This  was  the  last  expedition  of  the  bril- 
liant military  genius,  George  Kogers  Clark,  and  the  first  one  which  re- 
sulted unfortunately. 

GEN.   CHARLES  SCOTt's  EXPEDITION. 

In  January,  1791,  President  Washington  laid  before  Congress  his 
views  of  the  proper  measures  for  protecting  the  Western  settlements  from 
Indian  depredations.  He  expressed  a  very  decided  opinion  that  another 
campaign  against  the  Wabash  Indians  was  indispensable.  These  tribes 
were  estimated  at  1,100  warriors,  to  which  were  to  be  added  1,000  be- 
longing to  more  distant  tribes.  The  President  held  that,  although  winter 
imposed  peace  at  that  time,  unless  the  attention  of  the  tribes  was  directed 
to  their  own  country,  they  would  spread  desolation  over  the  frontier  on  the 
opening  of  spring.  Congress  authorized  the  President  to  raise  an  army 
of  3,000  men,  to  be  placed  under  the  command  of  Gov.  St.  Clair,  who 
was  appointed  a  major-general,  and  also  a  corps  of  Kentucky  volunteers 
for  the  purpose  of  a  rapid  march  and  immediate  attack  on  the  Wabash. 
This  corps  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Charles  Scott. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1791,  Gen.  Scott,  with  a  force  of  about  800 
mounted  men,  crossed  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  and  com- 
menced his  march  for  the  Wea  towns.  They  pressed  forward  with  the 
utmost  celerity,  but  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  wore  down  their  horses 
and  injured  their  provisions.  The  country  was  intersected  and  made 
rough  by  four  branches  of  the  White  River  and  other  smaller  streams, 
many  of  them  having  steep  and  muddy  banks.  On  the  Slst  of  May 
they  had  made  135  miles  from  the  Ohio.  June  1,  at  a  distance 
of  150  miles  from  the  Ohio,  they  came  in  sight  of  two  small  villages  on 
their  left,  at  a  distance  of  two  and  four  miles  respectively,  the  main  town 
being  about  five  miles  in  front.  The  General  sent  a  detachment  under 
Col.  Harding  to  attack  the  villages  on  the  left,  while  he  pressed  forward 
rapidly  toward  the  main  town  in  front.  When  the  main  army  arrived 
at  an  eminence  overlooking  the  villages  on  the  Wabash,  the  enemy  were 
discovered  in  great  confusion  crossing  the  river  in  canoes,  having  been 
apprised  of  the  approach  of  the  whites  by  one  of  their  warriors  who 
had  seen  them  on  the  preceding  day.  All  the  savages  in  five  canoes  were 
destroyed  by  a  well  directed  fire.  The  Wabash,  at  that  point,  was  too 
high  to  be  forded,  and  the  Indians  kept  up  a  vigorous  fire  from  the  Kick- 
apoo  towns  on  the  opposite  bank.  Two  companies  passed  down  the  river 
and  crossed  over  and  drove  the  enemy  from  the  Kickapoo  village.  In 
the  mean    time  Col.  Hardin   successfully  executed  the   order  to  take  the 


26  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

villages  on  the  left.  He  also  discovered  a  third  and  stronger  village 
which  he  also  captured,  and  joined  his  commander  before  sunset,  having 
killed  six  warriors  and  taken  lifty-two  prisoners.  The  next  day  Col. 
Wilkinson,  with  360  men,  mai'ched  to  the  Tippecanoe  village,  which  he 
took  and  destroyed,  together  with  a  large  quantity  of  corn,  peltry  and 
furniture.  On  the  same  day  the  Wea  and  Kickapoo  towns  were  burned, 
and  the  gallant  army  reached  the  Ohio  on  the  14:th  of  June,  having  ac- 
complished the  great  object  of  their  expedition  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  man  killed  and  only  four  wounded,  and  having  killed  thirty- two 
of  the  savages  and  taken  fifty-two  prisoners.  The  General  testified 
that  not  a  single  act  of  inhumanity  had  marked  the  conduct  of  his  men. 

COL.  JAMES  Wilkinson's  expedition. 
The  expedition  of  Gen.  Scott  having  been  successful,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  Gen.  St.  Clair  the  Kentucky  Board  of  War  resolved  to 
organize  another  without  loss  of  time,  to  destroy  the  Eel  Kiver  towns, 
This  expedition  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  James  Wilkinson. 
July  20  Col.  Wilkinson  reported  to  Gov.  St.  Clair,  at^  Fort  Washing- 
ton, with  525  men  well  mounted  and  equipped.  The  march  began  from 
Cincinnati  August  1.  They  took  with  them  provisions  for  thirty 
days.  Instead  of  taking  the  direct  course  toward  the  Eel  River  villages, 
in  order  to  mislead  the  enemy  the  army  directed  its  course  toward  the 
site  of  Fort  W^ayne.  The  hunting  grounds  of  the  Indians  in  the  south- 
east part  of  Indiana,  and  the  most  common  paths  traveled  by  them  were 
thus  avoided.  For  three  days  the  northwardly  course  was  pursued. 
After  about  seventy  miles  from  Cincinnati  had  been  made,  their  course 
was  turned  northwestward.  On  the  6th  they  captured  a  Delaware  living 
on  the  Maumee.  On  the  7th  the  army  reached  the  Wabash  near  the  mouth 
of  Eel  River.  The  troops  crossed  the  river  and  charged  upon  the  town. 
The  enemy  being  completely  surprised,  was  unable  to  make  the  least  re- 
sistance; six  of  their  warriors  were  killed  and  thirty-four  prisoners  taken. 
Unfortunately  in  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  the  charge  two  Indian 
women  and  one  child  were  killed.  A  white  captive  in  the  village  was 
released.  The  whites  lost  but  two  men  killed  and  one  wounded.  The 
next  day  the  corn  was  cat  down  and  the  cabins  burned.  Col.  Wilkinson 
then  took  up  his  march  toward  the  Kickapoo  towns  in  the  prairie,  by  way 
of  the  Tippecanoe  village.  Reaching  the  latter  place,  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  Gen.  Scott  in  the  preceding  June,  it  was  found  that  the 
Indians  had  replanted  their  corn  and  beans.  These  were  again  cut  down. 
While  at  this  place  the  commander  learned  of  some  murmuring  and  dis- 
content among  his  men,  growing  out  of  a  reluctance  to  proceed  further 
in  the  enemy's  country.     This  induced  him  to  examine  the  state  of  the 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  .        27 

horses  and  provisions,  when  he  ]earned  to  his  mortification  that  270  horses 
were  lame  and  jaded,  and  barely  five  days'  provisions  left  for  the  men. 
Most  reluctantly  was  the  Colonel  compelled  to  abandon  his  design  against 
the  Kickapoos  of  the  prairie.  He,  however,  marched  against  a  village  of 
the  same  tribe  about  three  leagues  west.  This  town,  consisting  of  about 
thirty  houses,  was  destroyed,  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  corn  in  the 
milk.  On  their  homeward  march  the  army  fell  into  Gen.  Scott's  home- 
ward trace,  and  arrived  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  August  21.  The  men 
were  mostly  Kentucky  volunteers,  and  great  praise  was  awarded  by  the 
commander  to  the  whole  detachment.  Their  entire  march  from  Cincin- 
nati to  the  Indian  towns,  and  then  to  the  falls  was  by  accurate  computa- 
tion 451  miles,  and  was  accomplished  in  twenty-one  days.  Among  the 
prisoners  taken  by  Col.  Wilkinson  were  the  sons  and  sisters  of  the  king 
of  Ouiatenon  nation. 

GEN.    JOSIAH    HARMAk's    EXPEDITION. 

The  largest  and  most  important  expeditions  against  the  Indians  of 
the  Northwest  Territory  were  directed  against  the  Miami  towns  at  and 
near  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary  and  St.  Joseph,  where  they  form  the 
Maumee.  The  region  about  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne  was  probably  more 
thickly  populated  with  savages  than  any  other  in  Indiana.  The  junction 
of  the  rivers  was  the  site  of  an  old  and  important  town  of  the  Miami 
tribe.  The  importance  as  a  strategic  point  of  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne 
struck  Washington's  sagacious  mind,  and  one  of  the  objects  of  the  cam- 
paigns on  the  Maumee  was  to  establish  here  a  fort  which  was  to  be  con- 
nected by  Intel-mediate  stations  with  Fort  Washington  at  Cincinnati. 

The  first  of  these  campaigns  was  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Josiah 
Harmar.  He  marched  from  Cincinnati,  in  September,  1790,  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  which  he  was  told  by  guides  was  the  shortest  and  best  to 
the  head  of  the  Maumee.  Ho  had,  in  all,  about  1,300  men,  three- 
fourths  of  whom  were  raw  militia,  badly  armed  and  equipped.  They 
were  badly  supplied  with  axes  and  camp-kettles;  their  arms  were  largely 
out  of  repair  and  almost  useless,  many  muskets  being  brought  in  with- 
out locks,  with  the  expectation  of  being  repaired  in  camp.  Many  of  the 
militia  were  substitutes  unused  to  fire-arms,  who  at  the  first  sight  of  the 
Indians  threw  down  their  arms  and  ran.  October  13,  the  army  be- 
ing within  about  thirty  miles  of  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne,  Col.  John 
Harding,  with  600  militiamen  and  one  company  of  regulars,  was  sent 
forward  to  surprise  the  enemy  and  keep  them  in  their  forts  until  the 
main  body  with  artillery  would  come  up.  On  reaching  the  villages, 
however,  they  were  found  deserted.  On  the  17th  the  main  body  arrived, 
and  five  or  six  towns  were  destroyed,  and  about  20,000  bushels  of  corn  in 


28  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

the  ear  cut  down.  On  the  21st  the  army  started  on  its  homeward 
march.  Unfortunately,  on  the  next  day  it  was  resolved  that  Col.  Hard- 
ing, with  a  detachment  of  340  militia  and  sixty  regulars,  should  return 
to  the  burned  villages  on  the  supposition  that  the  Indians  had  returned 
thither.  They  succeeded  in  finding  the  Indians  early  the  next  morning. 
A  severe  engagement  ensued;  the  savages  fought  with  bravery.  The 
troops  were  defeated,  many  of  the  militia  and  most  of  the  regulars  being 
killed.  Dispirited  by  this  misfortune  and  dissensions  among  his  officers, 
Harmar  returned  to  Cincinnati.  The  expedition  is  known  as  Harmar's 
defeat.  In  its  purpose  of  intimidating  the  Indians  it  was  entirely  un- 
successful, but  in  its  object  in  destroying  the  Miami  villages  it  was  com- 
pletely successful.  The  towns  were  taken  and  300  houses  and  wigwams 
barned  without  the  loss  of  an  American  soldier.  The  subsequent  efforts 
to  defeat  the  savages  in  battle  were  unsuccessful.  The  Indians  looked 
upon  the  expedition  as  a  failure  and  defeat,  and  it  was  followed  by  vig- 
orous efforts  on  their  part  to  harass  and  break  up  the  American  settle- 
ments. To  carry  out  their  purposes  more  effectually.  Little  Turtle,  chief 
of  the  Miamis,  Blue  Jacket,  chief  of  the  Shawnees,  and  Buckongahelas, 
chief  of  the  Delawares,  engaged  in  forming  a  confederacy  strong  enough 
to  drive  the  whites  beyond  the  Ohio. 


ST.    CLAIR  S    DEFEAT. 

The  unfortunate  expedition  of  Gen.  St.  Clair  was  organized  during 
the  year  1791.  He  was  instructed  by  the  War  Department  to  march  for 
the  village  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  in  order  to  establish  a  strong  and 
permanent  military  post  at  that  place,  and  to  establish  such  posts  of 
communication  between  that  place  and  Fort  Washington  as  he  should 
judge  proper.  "The  establishment  of  such  a  post,"  said  the  Secretary 
of  War,  "is  considered  as  an  important  object  of  the  campaign,  and  is 
to  take  place  at  all  events."  September  17,  St.  Clair,  with  about 
2,300  men,  marched  from  Ludlow's  Station,  near  Cincinnati.  No- 
vember 3,  the  army  arrived  at  a  creek  running  to  the  southwest,  and 
which  was  supposed  to  be  the  St.  Mary's,  one  of  the  principal  branches 
of  the  Maumee,  but  was  afterward  found  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Wabash. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  November  4,  the  army  was  surprised  and  met 
with  a  most  disastrous  defeat.  Of  the  1,500  men  engaged  in  the  battle, 
more  than  half  were  either  killed  or  wounded.  It  was  the  greatest  ca- 
lamity to  the  disheartened  and  greatly  harassed  pioneers  of  the  North- 
west Territory,  and  the  most  disastrous  defeat  of  the  Americans  by  the 
Indians.  The  battle  occurred  near  the  Indian  line  in  Mercer  County, 
Ohio,  the  battle-field  being  afterward  known  as  Fort  Recovery. 


INDIANA   TERRITORY.  29 

Wayne's  victory. 
IiD mediately  after  the  defeat  the  Federal  Government  took  steps  to 
raise  another  large  army  to  operate  against  the  hostile  tribes.  Nearly 
three  years  passed,  however,  before  the  confederated  hostile  tribes  were 
met  by  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  whose  army  numbered  more  than  3,000 
men,  well  disciplined  and  finely  ofl&cered,  1,600  being  mounted  volun- 
teer  troops  from  Kentucky,  commanded  by  Gen.  Charles  Scott,  of  that 
State.  Wayne's  decisive  victory  occurred  August  20,  1794,  near  the 
Maumee  Rapids,  in  Wood  County,  Ohio.  The  battle  is  known  as  the 
battle  of  the  Fallen  Timbers,  though  sometimes  called  the  battle  of  the 
Maumee.  Had  not  the  Indians,  apprised  of  the  approach  of  the  armies 
of  St.  Clair  and  Wayne,  gone  forth  from  their  principal  villages  to  meet 
them,  the  disastrous  defeat  of  the  one  and  the  decisive  victory  of  the 
other  would  have  taken  place  on  the  soil  of  Indiana,  and  not  Ohio. 
Cessation  of  the  long  and  bloody  Indian  war  followed  Wayne's  victory, 
and  a  peace  was  secured,  which  continued  unbroken  until  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  sixteen  years  later. 


CHAPTER  II. 
INDIANA  TERRITORY. 

Division  of  the  Northwest  Territory— Organization  of  Indiana 
Territory— Condition  of  the  Territory  at  its  Organization— 
The  First  Governor— Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet— Fear  of  In- 
dian Hostilities— Battle  of  Tippecanoe— The  Slavery  Question 
IN  THE  Territory— The  War  of  1812— Indiana  Admitted  into 
the  Union— Progress  of  the  State. 

THE  vast  extent  of  the  Northwest  Territory  made  the  ordinary  opera- 
tions of  government  extremely  uncertain,  and  the  efficient  action 
of  courts  almost  impossible  in  the  western  parts  of  the  Territory.  In 
the  three  western  places  of  holding  courts,  Vincennes,  Cahokia  and  Kas- 
kaskia,  there  had  been  held  but  one  court  having  criminal  jurisdiction  in 
the  five  years  from  1795  to  1800.  Offenders  against  justice  having  no  fear 
of  punishment,  the  French  settlements  became  an  asylum  for  the  most 
vile  and  abandoned  criminals.  A  committee  of  Congress,  March  3, 
1800,  recommended  a  division  of  the  territory  into  two  distinct  and  sep- 
arate governments.  Accordingly,  May  7,  1800,  an  act  was  passed  by 
Congress  making  such  division  by  an  act  which  took  eifect  from  and 


30  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

after  the  succeeding  4th  day  of  July.       The  western  division  was  called 
Indiana  Territory. 

The  first  boundary  of  Indiana  Territory  on  the  east  was  not  the  same 
as  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State.  The  ordinance  of  1787  provided 
that  the  middle  State  which  should  be  formed  out  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory, should  be  bounded  on  the  east  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  River,  and  the  committee  of  Congress 
which  proposed  the  division  of  the  territory  recommended  that  the  divis- 
ion should  be  made  by  this  line.  The  act  of  Congress,  however,  made 
the  Greenville  treaty  line,  as  far  as  Fort  Recovery,  the  boundary  line. 
The  line  of  division  was  described  as  "beginning  at  the  Ohio,  opposite 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  running  thence  to  Fort  Re- 
covery, and  thence  north  until  it  shall  intersect  the  territorial  line  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Canada. "  The  Greenville  treaty  line  is  found 
marked  on  some  of  the  maps  of  Indiana.  Fort  Recovery  was  in  Darke 
County,  Ohio,  about  one  mile  east  of  the  State  line.  When  Ohio  was 
made  a  State  the  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Miami  was  made  its  western  boundary,  and  the  lands  between  this  line 
and  the  Greenville  treaty  line  were  attached  to  Indiana  Territory. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  TERRITORY  AT  ITS  ORGANIZATION. 

At  the  time  of  its  organization  Indiana  Territory  comprised  a  vast 
region  almost  uninhabited  except  by  savages.  The  only  settlements  of 
white  men  were  so  widely  separated  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
contribute  to  their  mutual  defense  or  encouragement.  These  settlements 
were  four^in  number.  The  first  was  at  Clark's  Grant,  at  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio  opposite  Louisville;  the  second  the  old  French  establishment  at 
Vincennes,  on  the  Wabash;  the  third  comprised  a  series  of  French  vil- 
lages, extending  from  Kaskaskia,  seventy-five  miles  below  the  site  of  St. 
Louis,  to  Cahokia,  five  miles  below  St.  Louis;  the  fourth  was  Detroit,  on 
the  Detroit  River.  The  capital  was  at  Vincennes,  at  this  time  often 
written  Post  Vincents.  Numerous  tribes  of  warlike  Indians  were  scat- 
tered throughout  the  northern  portion  of  the  Territory,  whose  hostility  to 
the  American  settlers  was  inflamed  by  the  intrigues  of  British  agents 
and  frequent  outrages  by  American  hunters  and  traders. 

Clark's  Grant  in  Indiana  was  a  reservation  by  Virginia  in  her  cession 
of  the  Northwest  Territory  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  Gen.  Clark  and  the 
ofiicers  and  soldiers  under  his  command  in  the  conquest  of  the  British 
posts  of  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes.  The  quantity  of  land  in  the  grant 
was  stipulated  not  to  exceed  100,000  acres,  to  be  laid  off  in  one  tract,  the 
length  of  which  was  not  to  exceed  double  the  breadth,  and  in  such  place 
on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio,  as  a  majority  of  the  officers  should 


INDIANA   TERRITORY.  31 

choose.  The  tract  was  selected  and  located  about  the  falls  of  the  Ohio, 
and  distributed  among  the  claimants  according  to  the  laws  of  Virginia. 
An  act  of  the .  Legislature  of  that  State  was  passed  "to  establish  the 
town  of  Clarkesville,  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  in  the  county  of  Illinois," 
by  which  a  board  of  trustees  in  whom  the  title  of  the  town  was  vested 
in  trust.  They  were  directed  to  sell  lots  of  half  an  acre  each  at  public 
auction,  subject  to  the  condition  that  the  purchaser  should  within  three 
years  from  the  date  of  sale  erect  a  dwelling-house  "twenty  feet  by  eight- 
een, with  a  brick  or  stone  chimney."  The  trustees  located  the  town  im- 
mediately at  the  foot  of  the  falls.  Its  position  at  the  head  of  keel-boat 
navigation  on  the  lower  Ohio  was  supposed  to  give  it  great  advantages, 
and  it  was  for  a  time  a  rival  of  Louisville.  Jefferson vi lie,  at  the  head 
of  the  falls,  occupied  the  site  of  Fort  Steuben.  Midway  between  these 
places  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  the  then  unhealthy  town 
of  Louisville,  which,  in  1800,  contained  a  population  of  359  souls,  and 
about  150  houses,  a  printing  office  and  a  postoffice. 

From  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  settlements  spread  over  Clark's  Grant. 
Vincennes,  the  capital  of  the  Territory,  is  described  by  contemporary 
writers  at  the  period  of  the  establishment  of  the  territorial  government, 
as  a  handsome  town  of  about  100  houses,  some  of  which  were  built  of 
freestone.  From  Cincinnati,  settlements  extended  up  the  Whitewater 
Valley.  On  the  first  Monday  in  April,^  1801,  the  first  sale  of  lands  west 
of  the  Great  Miami  was  held  at  Cincinnati.  In  the  closing  years  of 
the  last  century,  before  the  establishment  of  a  land  office  for  the  sale  of 
any  lands  in  Indiana,  squatters  had  begun  to  occupy  Government  lands 
in  the  southeastern  part.  Land  offices,  at  which, lands  in  Indiana  were 
sold,  were  established  by  the  United  States  as  follows:  At  Cincinnati, 
May  10,  1800;  at  Vincennes,  March  26,  1804;  at  Jeffersonville,  March 
3, 1807;  at  Indianapolis  and  Crawfordsville,  March  3,  1819;  Fort  Wayne, 
May  8,  1822. 

From  Cincinnati,  the  most  important  town  in  the  eastern  division  of 
the  Northwest  Territory,  to  Vincennes,  the  capital  of  Indiana  Territory, 
was  a  laborious  journey  through  the  wilderness.  A  common  method  of 
making  this  journey  was  to  embark  on  the  Ohio  in  a  Kentucky  boat, 
sometimes  called  an  ark,  with  horses  and  provisions,  proceed  as  far  as 
the  falls,  and  thence  by  horseback  to  the  post,  more  than  100  miles 
unmarked  by  a  vestige  of  civilization. 

THE    FIRST    GOVERNOR. 

The  first  governor  of  Indiana  Territory  was  Capt.  William  Henry 
Harrison,  afterward  major-general  and  President.  At  the  time  of  his 
appointment  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  yet  he  had   already  served 


32  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

under  "Wayne  against  the  Indians  as  lieutenant,  and  distinguished  him- 
self for  bravery;  had  been  the  first  delegate  in  Congress  from  the  North- 
west Territory,  and  had  served  as  secretary  of  the  Territory.  As  the 
secretary  was  ex  officio  lieutenant-governor,  he  had  for  a  considerable 
time  performed  the  duties  of  governor  of  the  Territory  before  its  divis- 
ion, Gen.  St.  Clair,  the  governor,  being  rarely  in  the  Territory  at  that 
time,  his  residence  being  in  Pennsylvania.  When  the  office  of  governor 
of  the  new  Territory  of  Indiana  was  first  proposed  to  young  Harrison, 
he  expressed  himself  as  much  adverse  to  accepting  it,  because  he  had 
reason  to  believe  that  Gov.  St.  Clair  would  soon  be  retired  from  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  more  populous  eastern  division  (now  Ohio),  and  that  he 
would  be  strongly  recommended  as  his  successor.  It  happened,  however, 
as  Gen.  Harrison  himself  has  narrated,  that  two  influential  supporters  of 
John  Adams'  administration  were  desirous  of  that  position,,  and  by  their 
management  he  became  the  governor  of  Indiana  Territory.  The  gov- 
ernors were  appointed  for  three  years.  Harrison  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Adams  in  1800;  upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  was  reap- 
pointed in  1803  by  President  Jefferson;  in  1806  he  was  again  appointed 
by  Jefferson;  in  1809  he  was  reappointed  by  President  Madison,  and  in 
1812  again  appointed  by  Madison. 

The  territorial  governors  were  ex-officio  superintendents  of  Indian 
affairs  within  their  territories.  A  few  months  after  President  Jefferson 
came  into  office  he  nominated  Gov.  Harrison  a  commissioner  to  make 
treaties  with  the  Indians,  and  the  nomination  was  confirmed  by  the  Sen- 
ate. The  custom  of  the  Government  in  treating  with  the  Indians  had 
been  to  appoint  two  or  more  persons  to  represent  the  Government  as  com- 
missioners. The  reason  given  by  the  President  for  this  departure  from 
the  usual  course  in  the  case  of  Indiana  Territory,  was  that  Louisiana 
had  been  ceded  to  the  French,  and  the  French  understood  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Indians  better  than  any  other  nation;  that  to  guard  against 
their  intrigues  it  was  necessary  to  form  settlements  on  the  Mississippi, 
the  lower  Ohio,  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  Rivers,  which  could  only  be 
done  by  extinguishing  the  Indian  titles,  and  this  could  not  be  done  at 
once,  but  by  watching  opportunities.  The  President,  therefore,  did  not 
wish  to  embarrass  the  governor  with  a  colleague.  ^  Thus  it  was  that 
Harrison  was  the  sole  representative  of  the  United  States  in  the  nego- 
tiations with  the  Indians  by  which  the  Indian  title  to  most  of  the  lands 
of  Indiana  was  extinguished.  Gov.  Harrison  held  this  important 
commission  during  the  entire  period  of  his  government  of  the  Territory. 
He  negotiated  thirteen  treaties,  and  obtained  the  cession  of  over  50,000,- 
000  of  acres  in  the  Northwest,  more  than  double  the  land  now  included 
in  Indiana. 


INDIANA   TERRITORY.  33 

While  acting  as  commissioner,  Harrison  was  allowed,  in  addition  to 
his  pay  as  governor,  $6  per  day  and  his  expenses,  and  he  could  assume 
the  character  of  Indian  commissioner  whenever  he  thought  proper.  He 
was  indeed  necessarily  almost  constantly  acting  under  it.  The  charges 
he  made  for  pay  as  commissioner,  however,  were  only  for  the  time  actu- 
ally employed  in  specific  negotiation.  All  the  compensation  he  received 
for  these  services  during  the  twelve  years  he  held  the  commission  did  not 
exceed  13,000.  His  charge  for  one  important  treaty  was  $44.  It  is  said 
that  no  man  ever  disbursed  so  many  and  such  large  sums  of  public 
treasure  with  so  little  difficulty  in  adjusting  his  accounts  with  the  Gov- 
ernment as  Harrison  while  governor.  United  States  commissioner  and 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in  Indiana  Territory.  He  wisely 
avoided  keeping  the  public  money  on  hand,  and  always  made  his  pay- 
ments by  drafts  on  Washington. 

Some  of  the  more  important  of  the  early  treaties  by  which  the  owner- 
ship of  Indiana  lands  was  transferred  to  the  United  States  Government, 
are  here  mentioned.  In  the  treaty  at  Greenville,  August  3,  1795,  only 
a  small  portion  of  the  lands  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State  was 
included.  Septenjber  17,  1802,  Gov.  Harrison  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment at  Vincennes  with  the  chiefs  of  various  tribes  by  which  the  bounds 
of  a  tract  at  that  place  said  to  have  been  given  to  its  founder  were  settled 
and  June  7,  1803,  at  Fort  Wayne,  the  same  chiefs  ceded  the  lands 
about  Vincennes  to  the  United  States. .  Other  treaties  were  concluded  at 
Vincennes  in  August,  1804;  at  Fort  Wayne  in  September,  1809;  at  St. 
Mary's  in  October,  1818,  and  Tippecanoe  in  1832. 

TECUMSEH  AND  THE  PROPHET. 

The  troubles  with  the  Indians  commenced  early  in  the  history  of  the 
Territory.  In  July,  1801,  the  governor,  referring  to  the  lawless  acts  of 
vagabond  whites,  wrote  to  the  United  States  Government:  "All  these 
injuries  the  Indians  have  hitherto  borne  with  astonishing  patience,  but 
though  they  discover  no  disposition  to  make  war  upon  the  United  States, 
I  am  confident  that  most  of  the  tribes  would  eagerly  seize  any  favorable 
.opportunity  for  that  purpose,  and  should  the  United  States  be  at  war 
with  any  European  nations  who  are  known  to  the  Indians,  there  would 
probably  be  a  combination  of  nine-tenths  of  the  northern  tribes  against 
us,  unless  some  means  are  made  use  of  to  conciliate  them."  President 
Jefferson  did  everything  in  his  power  to  protect  the  Indians  and  to 
induce  them  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  adopt  the  arts  of  civilized  life. 
Congress  was  powerless  to  prevent  the  atrocities  committed  by  the  worth- 
less white  men  who  are  ever  found  prowling  along  the  verge  of  civiliza- 
tion.    The  outrages  were  deplored  by  thousands  of  good  men. 


34  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  Territory,  Tecuraseh  planned  his  scheme 
of  a  confederation  of  all  the  Indian  nations,  by  which  the  whites  were  to 
be  restrained  in  their  acquisitions  of  lands.  This  remarkable  man,  the 
most  bold  and  accomplished  warrior  and  diplomatist  the  tribes  of  red 
men  ever  produced,  was  for  much  of  his  active  life  a  resident  of  Indiana. 
He  was  born  not  far  from  the  site  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  belonged  to 
the  Shawnee  nation,  his  father  and  his  mother  being  members  of  differ- 
ent tribes  of  that  extensive  people.  In  1795  he  became  a  chief.  He 
resided  in  different  parts  of  the  Miami  country,  in  what  is  now  Ohio, 
until  1798,  when  he  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Delawares,  then 
residing  in  part  on  White  River,  Ind.,  to  remove  to  that  region  with  his 
followers.  Here  he  resided  a  number  of  years,  and  gradually  extended 
his  influence  among  the  Indians. 

Tecumseh's  brother,  known  in  history  as  the  Prophet,  was  scarcely 
less  remarkable  a  man;  he  was  an  orator  of  great  power  and  a  religious 
teacher.  About  1804,  according  to  the  accounts  usually  given,  the 
brothers  began  to  work  in  unison  on  their  grand  project  of  uniting  all 
the  Western  Indians  in  one  confederacy.  Their  avowed  objects  were 
two-fold:  first,  the  reformation  of  the  savages,  whose  habits  unfitted 
them  for  continuous  and  heroic  efforts;  second,  a  union  which  would 
make  the  purchase  of  land  by  the  United  States  impossible  without  the 
consent  of  all  the  tribes,  and  would  give  the  Indians  a  strength  that 
would  be  dreaded.  In  case  of  war  with  the  whites  a  simultaneous  attack 
could  be  made  upon  all  the  frontier  settlements,  so  that  white  troops 
could  not  be  sent  from  one  to  the  aid  of  another.  In  1805,  through  the 
influence  of  the  Prophet,  a  large  number  of  Indians  collected  at  Green- 
ville. In  1806  both  Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet  were  at  Grreenville,  and 
were  visited  by  representatives  of  many  tribes. 

APPEEHENSION    OF     INDIAN    HOSTILITIES. 

In  the  spring  of  1808  the  brothers  removed  to  a  tract  of  land  on  the 
Tippecanoe,  a  tributary  of  the^W abash.  Here  on  a  spot  probably  never 
visited  by  white  men,  about  100  miles  northwest  from  Fort  Wayne,  was 
the  Prophet's  town,  containing  about  only  130  souls.  Representative 
Indians  from  remote  parts  here  visited  the  Prophet,  who  continued  his 
efforts  to  reform  his  brethren  by  preaching  temperance,  depicting  the  fear- 
ful evils  the  fire-water  of  the  white  men  had  brought  upon  them,  and 
announcing  his  commission  from  the  Great  Spirit  to  extricate  his  red 
children  from  the  utter  ruin  with  which  they  were  menaced. 

Tecumseh  traveled  from  tribe  to  tribe,  strengthening  his  influence 
and  organizing  his  league.  With  the  enthusiasm  of  Peter  the  Hermit 
he  journeyed  over  thousands  of  miles,  visiting  remote  nations  of  red 


li.^ 


^  lU^L^ 


INDIANA  TERRITORY.  37 

men.  He  visited  all  the  northern  tribes  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  upon  the  Lakes  Superior,  Huron  and  Michigan.  In  1807 
Gov.  Harrison,  alarmed  at  the  movements  of  the  two  brothers,  sent  a 
message  of  inquiry  and  remonstrance,  couched  in  severe  terms.  The 
Prophet  sent  a  reply,  denying  that  he  had  any  purpose  to  rouse  the 
tribes  to  another  war.  His  plan  of  saving  the  Indians,  he  constantly 
asserted,  was  by  reforming  them  from  intemperance,  uniting  them  and 
encouraging  industry.  In  July,  1808,  the  Prophet  went  from  Tippe- 
canoe to  Vincennes,  a  distance  of  hundreds  of  miles,  on  a  pacific  mes- 
sage to  the  governor.  He  came  with  a  large  number  of  followers,  whom 
he  frequently  harangued  in  the  presence  of  the  governor  on  the  evils  of 
war  and  intemperance.  No  persuasion  of  the  whites  could  induce  any 
of  them  to  touch  intoxicating  liquors.  The  Prophet  again  declared  that 
it  was  his  desire  to  live  in  peace  with  the  whites,  and  called  the  Great 
Spirit  to  witness  the  truth  of  his  declaration.  Whether  the  Prophet 
was  a  religious  fanatic  or  a  vile  impostor  can  never  be  settled. 

Throughout  the  year  1809  Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet  continued  to 
strengthen  themselves  both  openly  and  secretly.  Notwithstanding  these 
solemn  and  repeated  declarations  of  peaceful  intentions,  the  Governor 
suspected  their  ultimate  designs,  and  was  preparing  to  meet  any  emer- 
gency. In  June,  1809,  Tecumseh  with  about  forty  followers  again  vis- 
ited the  Governor.  The  Governor  wrote  to  the  Government  that  suspi 
cions  of  his  guilty  intentions  were  strengthened  rather  than  diminished 
by  every  interview  during  this  visit  of  the  chief.  In  September,  1809, 
the  Governor  met  the  chiefs  of  several  tribes  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  pur- 
chased of  them  moi'e  than  3,000,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Wabash. 
Tecumseh  refused  to  sign  the  treaty,  and  threatened  death  to  those  who 
did.  In  the  year  following  he  visited  the  tribes  as  far  south  as  Tennes- 
see, exhorting  them  to  lay  aside  sectional  jealousies  in  the  hope  of  pre- 
serving their  hunting  grounds. 

THE    BATTLE  OF    TIPPECANOE. 

The  Governor  stood  firm  and  sent  for  a  few  soldiers  and  organized 
the  militia.  In  July,  1811,  the  citizens  of  Vincennes  and  its  vicinity 
met  while  the  legislative  council  was  in  session  and  memorialized  the 
President  on  the  subject,  not  so  much  for  a  military  force  from  the  Gov- 
ernment as  for  permission  to  fight  the  Indians  in  their  own  way.  The 
Indians  began  to  prowl  through  the  Wabash  Valley.  Harrison  was 
promised  strong  re-enforcements,  with  orders,  however,  to  be  backward  in 
employing  them.  On  the  1st  of  August  he  advised  the  Secretary  of  War 
of  his  plans,  which  were  to  again  warn  the  Indians  to  obey  the  treaty  of 
Greenville,  but   at  the  same  time  to  prepare  to  break  up  the  Prophet's 


38  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

establishment,  if  necessary.  Having  received  his  re-enforcements,  the 
Governor,  as  commander,  advanced  from  Vincennes  up  the  Wabash.  On 
the  5th  of  October  he  was  at  Terre  Haute,  where  he  built  Fort  Harrison. 
Here  one  of  his  sentinels  was  fired  upon.  October  31  he  was  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Vermilion  River,  where  he  built  a  block- house.  He  then 
advanced  toward  the  Prophet's  town,  still,  however,  offering  peace  to 
the  Indians.  When  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Prophet's  town  Harrison 
was  met  by  the  Indian  embassadors,  who  expressed  surprise  at  his  ad- 
vancing upon  them  and  said  that  an  answer  to  the  Governor's  demands 
upon  the  Indians  had  been  despatched  to  him  by  a  Pottawattomie  who 
had  left  two  days  before  to  meet  him,  but  had  missed  him  by  taking  the 
road  on  the  south  side  of  the  Wabash.  Harrison  informed  them  that  he 
had  no  intention  of  attacking  them  until  he  found  that  they  would  not 
comply  with  his  demands.  It  was  agreed  that  the  army  should  encamp 
for  the  night  and  in  the  morning  an  interview  with  the  Prophet  and  his 
chiefs  should  take  place,  and  in  the  meantime  no  hostilities  should  be 
committed. 

Before  daybreak  of  the  morning  the  treacherous  savages  crept  upon 
the  camp,  burst  upon  the  sleeping  army  like  demons,  and  before  the 
light  of  day  was  far  advanced  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  fought. 
Harrison  had  risen  at  a  quarter  after  four  o'clock,  and  the  signal  for 
calling  the  men  would  have  been  given  in  two  minutes,  when  the  attack 
commenced.  Nineteen-twentieths  of  the  men  had  never  been  in  an 
action.  They  behaved  well,  took  their  places  without  confusion,  under 
an  exceedingly  severe  fire,  and  fonght  with  bravery.  The  camp  fires 
affording  the  enemy  the  means  of  taking  surer  aim,  were  extinguished. 
With  coolness  and  deliberate  valor  the  white  men  stood  their  ground  in 
darkness  against  the  ferocity  of  the  savages,  until  daylight,  and  then 
routed  the  red  men  in  vigorous  charges.  The  next  day  they  burned  the 
Prophet's  town  and  returned  victorious  to  Vincennes. 

The  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  fought  on  the  7th  of  November,  18J 1. 
The  whites  had  in  this  action  not  more  than  700  efficient  men — non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates;  the  Indians  were  supposed  to  have 
had  from  700  to  1,000  men.  The  loss  of  the  whites  was  37  killed  on 
the  field,  25  mortally  wounded  and  126  wounded;  that  of  the  Indians 
about  40  killed  on  the  field,  the  number  of  wounded  not  being  known. 
Among  the  killed  were  two  Kentucky  officers,  Col.  Joseph  H.  Daviess 
and  Col.  Owen.  The  battle-ground  was  a  piece  of  dry  oak  land,  skirted 
on  the  west  by  Barnet  Creek,  with  marshy  prairies  covered  with  tall 
grass  on  the  east  and  west.  At  the  time  of  the  battle  Harrison  held  no 
rank  in  the  army,  but  as  governor  he  was  commander  of  the  Indiana 
militia,  and  under   the  authority  of  the  War  Department  he  took  com- 


INDIANA  TERRITORY.  39 

mand  of  the  whole  force.  The  victory  made  the  commander  famous, 
and  twice,  in  1836  and  1840,  Indiana  cast  her  electoral  vote  for  "the 
hero  of  Tippecanoe." 

At  the  time  of  the  battle  Tecumseh  was  among  the  southern  Indians. 
When  on  his  return  he  learned  that  his  brother  had  brought  on  the 
attack  and  had  been  defeated,  he  was  exceedingly  angry,  and  it  is 
said  reproached  the  Prophet  in  the  bitterest  terms.  The  defeat  had 
destroyed  the  power  of  the  brothers,  and  crushed  the  grand  confederacy 
before  it  was  completed.  Six  months^after  the  battle  the  United  States 
declared  war  with  England.  Tecumseh  left  Indiana  for  Fort  Maiden, 
in  Upper  Canada,  joined  the  British  standard,  participated  in  several 
engagements  against  the  Americans,  and  for  his  bravery  and  good  con- 
duct was  made  a  brigadier-general.  He  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  the 
Thames,  October  5,  1813,  in  the  forty- fourth  year  of  his  age.  Harrison, 
with  whom  he  had  so  often  conferred,  was  the  commander  of  the  enemy 
against  whom  he  fought  in  his  last  battle. 

THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION  IN  THE  TERRITORY. 

Before  the  formation  of  the  State  constitution  several  efforts  were 
made  to  introduce  African  slavery  in  a  modified  form  into  the  Territory 
of  Indiana.  Slavery  had  been  introduced  into  the  Illinois  country  by 
the  French  as  early  as  1720.  The  ordinance  of  1787  prohibiting  slavery 
in  the  Northwest  Territory  was  a  subject  of  complaint  by  some,  who,  by 
memorials  to  Congress  from  time  to  time,  made  efforts  to  obtain  a  sus- 
pension of  the  restriction  for  a  limited  period.  The  first  petition  to 
Congress  was  from  four  persons  in  Kaskaskia  in  1796,  asking  that  slav- 
ery might  be  tolerated  there.  Before  the  division  of  the  Northwest 
Territory,  and  while  the  first  territorial  Legislature  was  in  session  at  Cin- 
cinnati in  1799,  petitions  were  presented  by  Virgiaians,  who  owned  lands 
northwest  of  the  Ohio,  asking  that  they  might  settle  with  their  slaves 
on  their  own  lands.  These  petitions  were  promptly  rejected,  as  the  Leg- 
islature had  no  power  to  suspend  an  ordinance  of  Congress. 

Many  of  the  early  settlers  of  Indiana  were -from  Virginia,  Kentucky 
and  other  slave  States.  A  large  proportion  of  the  population  of  the 
Territory,  while  not  desiring  to  make  Indiana  a  slave  State,  believed 
that  a  temporary  employment  of  slave  labor  would  greatly  encourage 
immigration  and  promote  the  growth  and  improvement  of  the  country. 
Early  in  1803  a  territorial  convention  was  held  at  Vincennes  to  deliber- 
ate on  the  interests  of  the  Territory.  Gov.  Harrison  was  president  of 
the  convention.  A  memorial  was  sent  to  Congress,  together  with  a  letter 
of  the  pi-esident  of  the  convention,  declaring  the  assent  of  the  people 
of  Indiana  Territory  to  a  suspension  of  the  clause  of  the  ordinance  of 


40  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

1787,  forbidding  slavery.  John  Randolph,  from  the  committee  of  Con- 
gress to  which  this  letter  and  memorial  were  referred,  reported  as  fol- 
lows, March  2,  1803: 

"  That  the  rapid  population  of  the  State  of  Ohio  sufficiently  evinces, 
in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  that  the  labor  of  slaves  is  not  necessary 
to  promote  the  growth  and  settlement  of  colonies  in  that  region.  That 
this  labor,  demonstrably  the  dearest  of  any,  can  only  be  employed  to 
advantage  in  the  cultivation  of  products  more  valuable  than  any  known 
to  that  quarter  of  the  United  States;  that  the  committee  deem  it  highly 
dangerous  and  inexpedient  to  impair  a  provision  wisely  calculated  to 
promote  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  northwestern  country,  and  to 
give  strength  and  security  to  that  extensive  frontier.  In  the  salutary 
operation  of  this  sagacious  and  benevolent  restraint,  it  is  believed  that 
the  people  of  Indiana  will,  at  no  very  distant  day,  find  ample  remuner- 
ation for  a  temporary  privation  of  labor  and  of  immigration." 

This  report  was  made  at  the  close  of  the  session,  and  the  subject  was 
brought  up  again  at  the  next  session.  The  report,  together  with  the  let- 
ter of  Gov.  Harrison,  and  the  memorial  of  the  inhabitants  of  Indiana, 
was  referred  to  a  new  committee,  of  which  Csesar  Rodney,  of  Delaware, 
was  chairman.  This  committee,  February  17,  1804,  made  a  report  in 
favor  of  the  prayer  of  the  memorial,  and  offered  the  following  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  that  the  sixth  article  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  which  pro- 
hibited slavery  within  the  said  Territory,  be  suspended  in  a  qualified 
manner  for  ten  years,  so  as  to  permit  the  introduction  of  slaves  born  in 
the  United  States,  from  any  of  the  individual  States;  provided  that  such 
individual  State  does  not  permit  the  importation  of  slaves  from  foreign 
countries.  And  provided,  further,  that  the  descendants  of  all  such 
slaves  shall,  if  males,  be  free  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  if 
females,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years." 

This  resolution  failed  to  pass,  and  the  subject  came  up  again  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1806,  when  another  report  was  made  in  Congress  in  favor  of  the  tem- 
porary suspension  of  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  on  the  ground  that  the 
people  of  Indiana  universally  desired  such  suspension.  At  the  session  of 
the  Legislature  of  Indiana  Territory,  in  the  winter  of  1806-07,  resolutions 
on  the  subject  were  adopted  and  presented  to  Congress.  Another  com- 
mittee of  Congress  reported  in  favor  of  the  suspension  of  the  slavery 
clause  of  the  ordinance  for  ten  years,  but  the  measure  was  again  lost. 
A  committee  of  the  United  States  Senate  reported,  November  13,  1807, 
that  it  was  not  expedient  to  grant  the  request  of  the  Indiana  Legislature. 

To  avoid  the  restriction  in  the  ordinance  against  slavery,  the  Terri- 
torial Legislature  passed  an  act,  September  17,  1807,  entitled  "An  Act 
concerning  the  introduction  of  negroes  and  mulattoes  into  this  Territory." 


INDIANA  TERRITORY.  41 

It  legalized  the  introduction  into  the  TeiTitory  of  persons  of  color,  who 
were  slaves  in  the  States  or  Territories,  by  requiring  the  owner  or  posses- 
sor to  enter  into  indentures  with  his  slave,  the  latter  stipulating  to  serve 
as  an  indentured  servant  for  a  certain  period,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was 
to  become  free.  A  record  of  the  indenture  was'required  to  be  made  in 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  within  thirty  days  after  the  introduction  of 
the  slave  or  slaves.  Children  under  fifteen  years  of  age  were  required  to 
serve  their  former  owner  or  possessor,  if  males,  until  the  age  of  thirty- 
five  years;  if  females,  until  the  age  of  thirty-two  years.  Many  slave- 
holders in  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  other  slave  States,  desiring  to  man- 
umit their  slaves,  migrated  to  Indiana  and  availed  themselves  of  the  priv- 
ileges of  this  law.  In  Indiana,  slaves  before  the  expiration  of  their  term 
of  servitude,  were  termed  under  the  law  "indentured  servants."^  This 
form  of  servitude  was  done  away  with  in  Indiana  by  judical  decisions, 
and  in  Illinois  by  a  clause  in  the  State  constitution.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  firmness  of  Congress,  in  resisting  what  seemed  to  be  a  popular  demand, 
Indiana  might  have  been  a  slave  State.  The  demand  that  slave-holders, 
who  owned  land  in  Indiana,  should  be  permitted  to  employ  their  slaves 
in  clearing  the  forests  from  their  own  land,  seemed  just  and  reasonable 
to  many  persons  who  were  not  in  favor  of  the  extension  of  slavery. 

THE    WAR    OF    1812. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1812,  Indiana  Territory  had  a 
white  population  of  about  30,000  souls,  chiefly  in  the  southern  portions 
of  the  Territory.  All  the  settlements  in  Indiana,  as  well  as  those  in  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  Michigan  and  Illinois,  were  much  exposed  to  Indian  depreda- 
tions. The  Government  had  hesitated  to  employ  force  against  the  Indians 
in  Indiana,  lest  all  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest  should  be  combined 
against  the  United  States  in  case  of  a  war  with  England,  which  was 
imminent.  Although  Gov.  Harrison  wrote  a  few  months  after  the  battle 
of  Tippecanoe,  "  The  frontiers  never  enjoyed  more  perfect  security,"  yet 
as  soon  as  hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  England  commenced, 
there  were  gloomy  fears  of  the  Indians  all  along  the  western  frontiers, 
which  rose  to  universal  consternation  when  the  intelligence  was  spread 
abroad  that  the  whole  of  our  army  under  Hull,  with  Detroit  and  Michigan, 
had  been  surrendered  to  the  combined  British  forces,  commanded  by 
Brock  and  Tecumseh,  leaving  our  entire  outposts  in  the  Northwest  almost 
defenseless.  Three  points  needed  protection,  Fort  Wayne  and  the  Mau- 
mee,  the  Wabash,  and  the  Illinois.  The  troops  intended  for  Fort  Wayne 
were  to  be  put  under  Gen.  Winchester,  a  Revolutionary  ofiicer  residing 
in  Tennessee,  but  little  known  to  the  frontier  men;  those  for  the  Wabash 
were  to  be  under  Harrison,  whom  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  had  given  a 


42  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

military  reputation  in  the  West;  those  for  the  Illinois  were  to  be  under 
Edwards,  governor  of  Illinois  Territory.  Such  were  the  intentions  of 
the  Government,  but  the  action  of  the  authorities  of  Kentucky  frustrated 
them  and  fortunately  led  to  the  elevation  of  the  governor  of  Indiana  to 
the  post  of  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  of  the  West  and  North- 
west. 

Gov.  Harrison  while  at  Cincinnati  received  from  Gov.  Scott  a  re- 
quest to  repair  without  delay  to  Frankfort.  Arriving  at  the  capital  of 
Kentucky,  he  found  a  large  number  of  influential  citizens  of  Kentucky 
assembled,  some  to  witness  the  inauguration  of  Gov.  Shelby,  and  others 
by  invitation  of  Gov.  Scott,  the  retiring  governor.  A  grand  council 
had  been  held  upon  the  course  to  be  adopted  for  the  defense  of  the 
Northwestern  frontier,  and  it  had  been  determined  to  request  Gov. 
Harrison  to  take  command  of  the  troops  on  the  march  and  to  appoint 
him  a  major-general  in  the  Kentucky  militia.  He  accepted  the  com- 
mission, took  the  oath  required  by  the  laws  of  Kentucky,  and  in  a  few 
hours  was  on  horseback  to  overtake  the  troops  and  assume  command. 
Gen.  Harrison  afterward  said  that  he  looked  upon  this  as  the  most  hon- 
orable appointment  he  had  ever  received.  A  great  State,  already 
distinguished  for  the  talents  of  her  sons,  some  of  whom  were  Rev- 
olutionary officers,  placed  the  governor  of  another  Territory  in  com- 
mand of  her  troops  for  a  difficult  and  dangerous  expedition.  Sep- 
tember 17,  1812,  Harrison  was  appointed  by  the  Government  com- 
mander of  the  Army  of  the  West, 

After  the  surrender  of  Detroit  and  Fort  Dearborn  on  the  site  of  Chi- 
cago, Forts  Wayne  and  Harrison,  in  Indiana,  were  the  only  military 
stations  on  the  Northwestern  frontier  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 
These  were  re- enforced.  The  defeat  of  Hull  and  the  victories  of  the 
British  and  Indians  in  the  Northwest  awakened  throughout  Indiana, 
Ohio  and  Kentucky  a  determination  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  which  had 
stained  our  arms,  and  to  avert  the  desolation  that  threatened  the 
frontier.  In  August  several  regiments  which  had  been  raised  in  Ken- 
tucky were  directed  to  the  aid  of  Indiana  and  Illinois.  Vincennes  was 
made  the  principal  rendezvous,  and  Gen.  Hopkins  was  appointed  com- 
mander of  the  troops  on  the  Wabash.  It  was  arranged  that  Gen. 
Hopkins,  with  between  4,000  and  5,000  mounted  riflemen,  should 
move  up  the  Wabash  to  Fort  Harrison,  cross  over  to  the  Illinois  country, 
destroy  all  the  Indian  villages  on  the  Wabash,  march  across  the  prairies 
to  the  head-waters  of  the  Sangamon  and  Vermillion  Rivers,  and  then 
form  a  junction  with  the  Illinois  rangers  under  Gov.  Edwards,  and 
sweep  over  the  villages  on  the  Illinois  River.  September  29,  Hop- 
kins wrote  to  the  governor  of   Kentucky:     "My  present    intention  is  to 


INDIANA  TERRITORY.  43 

attack  every  Indian  settlement  on  the  Wabash,  and  to  destroy  their 
property,  then  fall  back  upon  the  Illinois,  and  I  trust,  in  all  the  next 
month,  to  perform  much  service.  Serious  opposition  I  hardly  appre- 
hend, although  I  intend  to  bo  prepared  for  it."  In  accordance  with  his 
determination,  Hopkins  set  out  from  Fort  Harrison  with  his  raw  militia- 
men October  15,  and  marched  some  eighty  or  ninety  miles  in  the 
Indian  country  without  obtaining  sight  of  the  enemy,  when  he  was  com- 
pelled to  return  on  account  of  insubordination  among  his  men  and  some 
of  the  officers. 

Deeply  chagrined  at  the  failure  of  his  expedition,  Gen.  Hopkins  did 
not  return  to  Kentucky,  but  remained  at  Fort  Harrison  to  await  the  rais- 
ing of  another  and  better  disciplined  army.  On  the  11th  of  November  he 
set  out  from  Fort  Harrison  with  about  1,200  men  on  an  expedition  against 
the  Indians  of  the  tipper  Wabash.  Lieut. -Col.  Butler,  with  seven  boats 
loaded  with  supplies  and  provisions,  at  the  same  time  ascended  the 
river.  On  the  19th  the  army  arrived  at  the  Prophet's  town,  and  300 
men  were  sent  to  surprise  the  Indian  towns  on  Ponce  Passu  Creek,  but 
the  villages  were  found  evacuated.  On  the  20th,  a  Kickapoo  town  con- 
taining 120  cabins  was  burned,  and  all  the  winter  provisions  of  corn  in 
the  vicinity  destroyed.  The  cold  weather  of  winter  was  rapidly  coming 
on,  many  of  the  men  were,  as  the  General  said,  "shoeless  and  shirtless," 
and  as  the  ice  in  the  river  began  to  obstruct  the  passage,  it  was  deemed 
prudent  to  return.  The  conduct  of  this  detachment  contrasts  favorably 
with  Hopkins'  first  army. 

The  military  system  under  which  the  war  of  1812  was  carried  on 
would  by  no  means  have  answered  the  purposes  of  the  Government  in 
the  greater  war  of  the  Rebellion.  The  terms  of  service  for  which  the 
men  were  called  out  were  generally  short,  not  exceeding  six  mouths. 
In  many  cases  the  raw  militiamen  had  scarcely  learned  to  drill  as  soldiers 
when  their  term  of  service  expired,  and  they  were  succeeded  by  fresh, 
untrained  recruits.  The  West,  and  especially  the  region  of  the  Maumee 
and  Lake  Erie,  was  the  principal  theater  of  the  war.  In  many  parts  of 
the  United  States  there  was  much  opposition  to  the  war,  but  the  pioneers 
of  Indiana  Territory  were  enthusiastically  in  favor  of  the  declaration  of 
war  and  its  vigorous  prosecution.  Although  the  population  was  Dot 
large,  in  every  vicissitude  of  the  contest  the  conduct  of  the  people  of 
Indiana  was  patriotic  and  honorable.  They  volunteered  with  alacrity, 
and  endured  the  hardships  of  the  campaigns  on  the  swamps  of  the  Mau- 
mee and  the  St.  Mary's  with  patience  and  cheerfulness. 

PEOGEESS  OF  THE  NEW  STATE. 

Peace  was  made  with  Great  Britain  by  the  treaty  at  Ghent,  December 
24,  1814.      The  Indians,  deprived  of  their  British  ally,  and   having  lost 


44  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

their  great  leader,  Tecumseli,  renounced  all  hope  of  arresting  the  advance 
of  the  white  man.  Tribe  after  tribe  during  the  year  1815  entered  into 
treaties  of  peace  with  the  United  States,  and  acknowledged  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  the  Government.  Confidence  was  restored  to  the 
frontier  settlements,  and  immigration  again  began  to  push  into  the  forests 
and  prairies.  The  campaigns  of  the  rangers  and  mounted  infantry,  who 
had  traversed  the  rich  and  delightful  lands  along  the  Wabash,  the  San- 
gamon and  the  Illinois, served  as  explorations  of  new  and  fertile  countries, 
and  opened  the  way  to  thousands  of  pioneers  and  the  formation  of  new 
settlements.  Although  large  numbers  passed  westward  to  the  prairies  of 
Illinois,  yet  Indiana  retained  a  large  share  of  the  rapid  immigration. 
Prom  1810  to  1820  Indiana  increased  in  population  from  24,520  to 
147,178,  an  increase  of  500  per  cent,  a  rate  of  growth  at  that  time  unex- 
ampled in  the  growth  of  American  States. 

In  December,  1815,  one  year  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Territorial 
Legislature  petitioned  Congress  for  the  privilege  of  forming  a  State  con- 
stitution and  admission  into  the  Union.  A  bill  for  these  purposes  was 
passed  in  April,  1816;  soon  after  a  convention  met  at  Corydon,  and 
June  29,  adopted  the  first  constitution  of  Indiana.  This  constitution 
was  formed  at  a  time  when  there  was  a  lull  of  party  violence,  and  when 
the  era  of  political  good  feeling  prevailed.  December  11,  1816,  the 
State  was  admitted  as  a  sovereign  member  of  the  Union.  Jonathan  Jen- 
nings, who  had  represented  the  Territory  as  delegate  in  Congress,  and 
had  presided  over  the  convention  which  formed  the  constitution,  was  the 
first  governor.  In  January,  1821,  the  Legislature  located  the  seat  of 
government  at  Indianapolis,  and  at  the  same  time  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  lay  out  a  town  at  the  site  selected,  and  gave  it  its  present 
name,  formed  by  adding  the  Greek  word  polls,  meaning  a  city,  to  the 
name  of  the  State. 

In  the  decade  from  1820  to  1830  the  sales  of  government  lands  in  the 
State  were  rapid,amounting  to  more  than  3,500,000  acres ;  and  the  population 
increased  133  per  cent.  From  1830  to  1840  the  population  was  doubled. 
In  1833  the  Wabash  &  Erie  Canal  was  commenced;  in  1834  the  State 
Bank,  with  ten  branches,  was  incorporated  The  result  of  these  under- 
takings,  and  others  into  which  the  State  entered,  was  a  debt  of  over 
$14,000,000  and  a  general  bankruptcy,  which  retarded  the  progress  and 
development  of  the  State.  In  1846  measures  were  taken  to  pay  the 
accumulated  interest  on  the  State  debt;  in  1850  a  new  constitution  was 
adopted,  and  soon  the  whole  economy  of  the  State  was  changed  and  pros- 
perity returned.  The  State  is  the  smallest  of  the  Western  States,  hav- 
ing an  area  of  33,809  square  miles,  but  in  population  it  ranks  sixth  in  the 
members  of  the  Union. 


THE  INDIANS. 


45 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  INDIANS. 


Location  of  Indian.Tribes  in  Indiana-Little  Turtle  Quoted-Thb 
Miami  Tribe— Indian  Villages— Indian  Agriculture— Moral  and 
Intellectual  Character  of  the  Indians-Antoine  Gamelin's 
Journey— Indians  Demand  the  Ohio  for    their  Boundary. 

THE  Indian  tribes  resident  within  the  bounds  of  Indiana  when  the 
first  settlements  by  the  whites  were  commenced  were  theMiamis,  the 
Shawnees,  the  Delawares,  the  Wyandq^j^d_Pottawatomies.     The  Weas, 
Eel   Eivers,   and   Piankashaws,    also    found   in   the    State,  were   really 
branches  of  the  Miamis.     In  the  treaty  at  Greenville  Gen.  Wayne  rec- 
ognized the  Weas  and  Eel  Rivers  as  distinct  tribes  from  the  Miamis  in 
order  that  they  might  receive  a  large  share  of  the  money  which  was  stip- 
ulated to  be  paid  by  the  United  States.     Gen.    Wayne  thought  it  just 
that  the  Miamis  and  thei/allied  tribes  should  receive  more  of  the  annui- 
ties promised  by  the  Government  than  they  would  be   entitled  to  as  a 
single  tribe,  because  he  recognized  it  as  a  fact  that  the  country  ceded  by 
the  treaty  was_really  their  property.     The  Indians  were  so  frequently  at 
war  with  each  other  and  so  often  moved  from  one  region  to  another  that 
it  is  difficult  to  locate  them  and  impossible  to  fix  definite  bounds  to  their 
possessions.     According  to  the  map  of  Indiana  giving  the  Indian  names 
of  rivers,   towns,   etc.,   prepared  by  the  late  Daniel   Hough,  of  Wayne 
County,  and  published  in  the  Indiana  geological   report  of  1882,  the 
northern  portion  of  the  State  is  assigned  to JhePottawattomies;  the  Wa- 
bash    and   Maumee  Valleys    to   the    Miamis;    the  head-waters  of    both 
branches  to  White  River  to  the  Delawares;  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
State  along  the  Ohio  to  the  Shawnees,  and  west  of  them  the  Wyandots. 
Of  these  tribes  the  Miamis  were  at  one  time  by  far  the  most  numer- 
ous and  powerful.     Their  territory  embraced  all  of  Ohio  west  of  the 
Scioto,  all  of  Indiana  and  part  of  Illinois.     They  had  numerous  villages 
on  the   Scioto,  the   head-waters    of    the  two   Miamis,  the   Maumee  and 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  the  Wabash  as  far  down  as  the  town  of 
Brushwood,  now  Vincennes.     Before  the  arrival  of  the  whites  west  of 
the  mountains,  it  is  believed  that    the  Miamis  could  assemble  a  larger 
number  of  warriors  than  any  other  aboriginal   nation  of  North  America. 


46  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

The  ravages  of  the  small-pox  liad  largely  reduced  their  numbers  before 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Little  Turtle,  the  famous  Miami  chief,  during  the  negotiations  which 
preceded  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  spoke  with  pride  and  yet  with  sadness 
of  the  former  greatness  and  dominion  of  his  tribe.  His  words  are  pre- 
served in  the  American  State  Papers: 

"I  hope  you  will  pay  attention  to  what  I  now  say  to  you.  You  have 
pointed  out  to  us  the  boundary  line  between  the  Indians  and  the  United 
States;  but  I  now  take  the  liberty  to  inform  you,  that  that  line  cuts  off 
from  the  Indians  a  large  portion  of  country  which  has  been  enjoyed  by 
my  forefathers  time  immemorial,  without  molestation  or  dispute.  The 
prints  of  my  ancestors'  houses  are  everywhere  to  be  seen  in  this  portion. 
It  is  well  known  to  all  my  brothers  present  that  my  forefather  kindled  the 
first  fire  at  Detroit;  from  thence  he  extended  his  lines  to  the  head-waters 
of  the  Scioto;  from  thence  to  its  mouth;  from  thence  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash;  from  thence  to  Chicago  on  Lake  Michigan,  At 
this  place  I  first  saw  my  elder  brothers,  the  Shawnees.  I  have  now  in- 
formed you  of  the  boundaries  of  the  Miami  nation,  where  the  Great 
Spirit  placed  my  forefather  a  long  time  ago,  and  charged  him  not  to  sell 
or  part  with  his  lands,  but  to  preserve  them  for  his  posterity.  This 
charge  has  been  handed  down  to  me.  I  was  surprised  to  find  my  other 
brothers  differed  so  much  from  me  on  this  subject;  for  their  conduct 
would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  the  Great  Spirit  and  their  forefathers 
had  not  given  them  the  charge  that  was  given  tome;  but  on  the  contrary 
had  directed  them  to  sell  their  lands  to  any  white  man  who  wore  a  hat, 
as  soon  as  he  should  ask  it  of  them. " 

Little  Turtle  took  pride  in  the  antiquity  of  his  race,  as  well  as  in  the 
extent  of  territoiV controlled  by  his  ancestors.  In  1797  this  Miami 
chief  met  Volney  in  Philadelphia.  The  French  philosopher  explained 
to  the  savage  orator  the  theory  that  the  Indian  race  had  descended  from 
the  dark-skinned  Tartars,  and,  by  a  map,  showed  the  supposed  communi- 
cation between  Asia  and  America.  Little  Turtle  replied:  "Why  should 
not  these  Tartars,  who  resemble  us,  have  descended  from  the  Indians  ?" 

INDIAN  VILLAGES. 

Long  before  the  first  settlements  of  the  English-speaking  whites  in 
Indiana,  the  habits  of  the  Indians  had  been  modified  by  their  contact 
with  the  Europeans.  The  traders  had  supplied  them  with  firearms, 
scalping-knives  and  iron  tomahawks.  They  had  iron  pots  and  brass  ket- 
tles for  cooking  and  sugar  making.  They  had  learned  to  like  strong 
drink,  and  were  given  to  great  excesses  in  eating  and  drinking.  Many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  their  more  important  villages  were  French. 


THE  INDIANS.  '  47 

The  Wea  Prairie,  or  plains,  a  few  miles, below  the  mouth  of  Wea 
Creek,  and  not  far  from  the  site  of  Lafayette,  contained  some  of  the  most 
extensive  improvements  ever  made  by  the  Indians  within  the  limits  of 
the  State.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Wabash  was  the  Indian  town 
Ouiatenon,  or  Wah-wee-ah -tenon  in  the  Indian  tongue.  When  it  was 
destroyed  by  Col.  Wilkinson  in  1791,  he  found  there  a  number  of  French 
books,  letters  and  documents,  showing  that  the  place  was  in  close  con 
flection  with  Detroit.  For  richness  of  soil  and  beauty  of  natural  scenery, 
few  places  in  the  West  can  compare  with  the  Wea  Plains. 

The  town  of  Tippecanoe,  or  Kathtippacamunck,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Wabash,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe,  was  also  a  celebrated  Indi- 
an place.  In  1791  the  village  consisted  of  about  120  houses,  eighty  of 
which  were  shingle-roofed.  The  best  houses  belonged  to  the  French 
traders,  whose  gardens  and  improvements  around  the  town  are  described 
as  delightful,  and  indeed  not  a  little  wonderful.  There  was  a  tavern 
with  cellars,  bar  and  public  and  private  rooms;  the  whole  was  marked 
by  considerable  order,  and  evinced  a  small  degree  of  civilization.  The 
town  of  the  Eel  River  tribe  was  scattered  along  the  Eel  River  for  about 
three  miles,  on  an  uneven,  scrubby  oak  barren,  intersected  alternately 
with  bogs  almost  impenetrable,  and  impervious  thickets  of  plum,  hazel 
and  black-jack.  Col.  Wilkinson  found  the  head  chief  at  this  place  guard- 
ing a  number  of  prisoners,  and  families  at  work  digging  a  root  which  they 
substituted  in  place  of  the  potato. 

INDIAN    AGRICULTDEE. 

The  agriculture  of  the  Indians  in  Indiana,  as  well  as  in  most  other 
parts  of  North  America,  was  confined  chiefly  to  the  growing  of  corn  and 
beans,  to  which  potatoes  were  afterward  added.  The  extent  of  their 
corn-fields  on  the  Wabash  and  the  Maumeewas  greater  than  is  generally 
supposed.  A  journal  of  Gen.  Wayne's  campaign,  kept  by  George  Will, 
under  the  date  of  August  8,  1794,  says:  "We  have  marched  four  or  five 
miles  in  corn-fields  down  the  Auglaise,  and  there  are  not  less  than  1,000 
acres  of  corn  around  the  town."  The  same  journal  describes  the  im- 
mense corn-fields,  numerous  vegetable  patches  and  old  apple  trees  found 
along  the  banks  of  the  Maumee  from  its  mouth  to  Fort  Wayne,  and  dis- 
closes the  fact  that  the  army  obtained  its  bread  and  vegetables  for  eight 
days,  while  building  Fort  Defiance,  from  the  surrounding  corn  and  po- 
tato fields. 

One  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  military  expedition  against  the  Indian 
villages  was  the  destruction  of  their  corn,  which  would  compel  the  war- 
riors to  devote  more  of  their  time  to  hunting  as  a  means  of  subsistence, 
and  thus  prevent  marauding  expeditions  against  the  white  settlements. 


48  PEELIMINARY  CHAPTERS. 

Gen.  Harmar,  in  his  unsuccessful  expedition  in  1790,  burned  and  destroyed 
nearly  20,000  bushels  of  corn  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Wayne.  Gen. 
Charles  Scott,  in  his  expedition  against  the  Wabash  Indians,  destroyed 
a  considerable  amount  of  corn  about  the  1st  of  June,  1791.  In  August 
of  the  same  year,  Col.  Wilkinson,  who  marched  against  the  same  vil- 
lages, found  that  the  Indians  had  replanted  their  corn,  and  it  was  in  high 
cultivation,  several  fields  being  well  plowed,  Wilkinson  reported  that 
besides  burning  a  respectable  Kickapoo  village  he  had  cut  down  at  least 
430  acres  of  corn,  chiefly  in  the  milk,  and  that  the  Indians,  left  without 
houses,  home  or  provisions,  must  cease  to  war,  and  would  find  active  em- 
ployment in  subsisting  their  squaws  and  children  during  the  coming 
winter. 

MORAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL  CHAEACTER. 

Gen.  William  H.  Harrison  speaks  of  the  moral  and  .  intellectual 
qualities  of  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  in  his  discourse  before  the 
Ohio  Historical  and  Philosophical  Society  on  the  "Aborigines  of  the 
Ohio  Valley,"  as  follows: 

"The  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawn ees  and  Miamis  were  much  su- 
perior to  the  other  members  of  the  confederacy.  The  Little  Turtle,  of 
the  Miami  tribe,  was  one  of  this  description,  as  was  the  Blue  Jacket,  a 
Shawnee  chief.  I  think  it  probable  that  Tecumseh  possessed  more  in- 
tegrity than  any  other  of  the  chiefs  who  attained  to  much  distinction; 
but  he  violated  a  solemn  engagement,  which  he  had  freely  contracted, 
and  there  are  strong  suspicions  of  his  having  formed  a  treacherous  de- 
sign, which  an  accident  only  prevented  him  from  accomplishing.  Sim- 
ilar instances  are,  however,  to  be  found  in  the  conduct  of  great  men  in 
the  history  of  almost  all  civilized  nations.  But  these  instances  are 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  number  of  individuals  of  high  moral 
character  which  were  to  be  found  among  the  principal  and  secondary 
chiefs  of  the  four  tribes  above  mentioned.  This  was  particularly  the 
ease  with  Tarhe,  or  the  Crane,  the  great  sachem  of  the  Wyandots,  and 
Black  Hoof,  the  chief  of  the  Shawnees.  Many  instances  might  be  ad- 
duced to  show  the  possession  on  the  part  of  these  men  of  an  uncommon 
degree  of  disinterestedness  and  magnanimity,  and  strict  performance  of 
their  engagements  under  circumstances  which  would  be  considered  by 
many  as  justifying  evasion. 

"By  many  they  are  supposed  to  be  stoics,  who  willingly  encounter 
deprivations.  The  very  reverse  is  the  fact.  If  they  belong  to  either  of 
the  classes  of  philosophers  which  prevailed  in  the  declining  ages  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  it  is  to  that  of  the  Epicureans.  For  no  Indian  will 
forego  an  enjoyment  or  sufifer  an  inconvenience  if  he  can  avoid  it,  but 
under  peculiar  circumstances,    when,   for   instance,  he  is  stimulated  by 


THE  INDIANS. 


49 


Rome  strong  passion.  But  even  the  gratification  of  this  he  is  ready  to 
postpone  whenever  its  accomplishment  is  attended  with  unlooked-for 
danger  or  unexpected  hardships.  Hence  their  military  operations  were 
always  feeble,  their  expeditions  few  and  far  between,  and  much  the 
greater  number  abandoned  without  an  "efficient  stroke,  from  whim, 
caprice,  or  an  aversion  to  encounter  difficulties."  He  adds-.  "When, 
however,  evil  comes  which  he  cannot  avoid,  then  he  will  call  up  all  the 
spirit  of  the  man,  and  meet  his  fate,  however  hard,  like  the  best  Roman 
of  them  all." 

antoine'^'gamelin's  journey. 
While  Gov.  St.  Clair  was  engaged  in  organizing  the  western  counties 
of  the  Northwest  Territory,  in  1790,  he  made  a  praisworthy  efifort  to  con- 
ciliate the  hostile  tribes  on  the  Wabash.  Antoine  Gamelin,  an  intelli- 
gent French  merchant  of  Vincennes,  was  employed  to  carry  the 
messages  of  the  Government  to  the  Indians,  and  to  ascertain  their  dis- 
position and  sentiments.  Antoine  traveled  across  the  State  and  visited 
all  the  tribes  along  the  Wabash  and  as  far  east  as  the  junction  of  the 
St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary's,  at  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne.  His  journal, 
which  fortunately  has  been  preserved,  gives  much  information  concern- 
ing the  Indians  of  Indiana  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  history  of  the 
Northwest  Territory. 

Setting  out  from  Vincennes,  April  5,  1790,  the  first  Indian  village 
he  arrived  at  was  called  Kickapougoi,  inhabited  by  a  tribe  then  peace- 
ably disposed  toward  the  whites.  The  second  village  he  found  was  at  the 
river  Vermillion,  and  inhabited  by  the  Piankeshaws,  who  looked  upon 
the  Mi  amis  as  their  elder  brethren,  and  could  not  give  an  answer  to  the 
message  until  they  had  consulted  that  nation.  On  the  lUh  of  April, 
Gamelin  arrived  at  a  tribe  of  the  Kickapoos,  who  also  regarded  the 
Miamis  as  their  elder  brethren.  On  the  18th  he  arrived  at  Eel  River. 
The  village  of  Eel  River  Indians  stood  about  six  miles  above  the  junc- 
tion of  that  stream  with  the  Wabash.  The  chief  of  this  tribe  was 
absent,  and  no  answer  to  the  message  could  be  obtained.  On  the  23d 
of  April  he  arrived  at  the  great  village  of  the  Miamis,  at  the  site  of 
Fort  Wayne.  The  chief  of  the  Miamis  at  this  time  was  called  LeGris. 
At  this  place  were  both  French  and  English  traders.  While  Gamelin 
remained  five  Pottawattomies  arrived  with  two  negro  men,  whom  they 
sold  to  the  English  traders.  Blue  Jacket,  the  great  warrior  chief  of  the 
Shawnees,  was  at  the  Miami  town.  Both  LeGris  and  Blue  Jacket  were 
disposed  to  insist  that  the  Ohio  River  should  be  made  the  Indian  bound- 
ary, and  the  report  of  Gamelin  was  unfavorable  for  the  maintenance  of 
peace. 


50  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 


INDIANS  DEMAND  THE  OHIO  FOK  THEIR  BOUNDARY. 

The  Indians  of  the  Wabash  and  Maumee  were  hostile  to  the  formation 
of  the  earlier  settlements  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  and  made  incursions 
upon  the  whites  along  the  Ohio  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  and 
often  passed  into  Kentucky  on  expeditions  of  plunder  and  murder. 
These  Indians  were  united  in  claiming  that  the  whites  had  no  rights  to 
any  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio;  that  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  in  1768 
made  the  Ohio  River  the  boundary,  and  they  refused  to  regard  the 
treaties  of  Fort  Mackintosh  in  1785,  and  Fort  Harmar  in  1789,  as  bind- 
ing, because  not  ratified  by  all  the  tribes. 

In  1793  President  Washington  instructed  the  commissioners  appointed 
by  him  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Northwestern  Indians,  to 
use  every  effort  to  obtain  a  confirmation  of  the  boundary  line  established 
at  Fort  Harmar,  and  to  offer  in  payment  $50,000  in  hand,  and  an  annuity 
of  $10,000  forever.  The  Indians  refused  the  money,  claimed  that  the 
treaties  already  made  were  void  because  not  sanctioned  by  all  the  tribes, 
demanded  that  the  Ohio  River  should  be  considered  the  boundary,  and 
that  every  white  settlement  should  be  removed  from  the  Northwest 
Territory.  The  paper  containing  these  views  of  the  Indians  was  signed 
by  the  chiefs  of  the  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawn ees,  Miamis,  Mingoes, 
Pottawattomies,  Ottawas,  Connoys,  Chippewas  and  Munsees. 

The  commissioners  explained  to  them  that  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment had  sold  large  tracts  of  land  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  and  that  the 
white  settlements  and  improvements  were  numerous,  and  had  cost  much 
money  and  labor,  and  could  not  be  given  up;  but  the  Government  was 
willing  to  pay  a  larger  sum  in  money  and  goods  than  had  been  given  at 
any  one  time  for  Indian  lands  since  the  whites  first  set  their  feet  on  this 
continent.     The  Indians  gave  as  their  final  reply: 

"Money  is  of  no  value  to  us,  and  to  most  of  us  is  unknown.  As  no 
consideration  whatever  can  induce  us  to  sell  the  lands  on  which  we  get 
sustenance  for  our  women  and  children,  we  hope  we  may  be  allowed  to 
point  out  a  mode  by  which  your  settlers  may  be  easily  removed,  and 
peace  thereby  obtained. 

"We  know  these  settlers  are  poor,  or  they  never  would  have  ventured 
to  live  in  a  country  which  has  been  in  continual  trouble  since  they  crossed 
the  Ohio.  Divide,  therefore,  this  large  sum  of  money  which  you  have 
offered  to  us  among  these  people.  Give  to  each,  also,  a  proportion  of 
what  you  say  you  will  give  to  us  annually  over  and  above  this  large  sum 
of  money,  and,  we  are  persuaded,  they  will  most  readily  accept  it  in  lieu 
of  the  land  you  sold  them.  If  you  add,  also,  the  great  sums  you  must 
expend  in  raising  and  paying  armies  with  a  view  to  force  us  to  yield  you 


THE  INDIANS.  51 

our  country,  you  will  certainly  have  more  than  sufficient  for  the  purpose 
of  repaying  these  settlers  for  all  their  labor  and  their  improvements. 

"We  shall  be  persuaded  that  you  mean  to  do  us  justice  if  you  agree 
that  the  Ohio  shall  remain  the  boundary  line  betw^een  us.  If  you  will 
not  consent  thereto,  our  further  meeting  will  be  altogether  unneces- 
sary. " 

The  ^commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  Government  said  "  That  they 
had  already  explicitly  declared  to  them  that  it  was  now  impossible  to 
make  the  Ohio  River  the  line  between  their  lands  and  the  lands  of  the 
United  States.  Your  answer  amounts  to  a  declaration  that  you  will 
agree  to  no  other  boundary  than  the  Ohio.  The  negotiation  is  therefore 
at  an  end." 

Nothing  remained  for  the  Government  but  a  vigorous  prosecution  of 
the  war.  The  Indians  were  defeated  by  Gen.  Wayne  in  August,  1794, 
and  in  August,  1795,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  ratified  by  all  the  tribes. 
The  treaty  of  Greenville  was  the  first  one  since  that  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
which  was  regarded  as  binding  upon  the  Indian  confederacy.  It  was 
observed  by  them  in  good  faith,  and  there  was  no  further  war  between 
the  red  men  and  the  whites  until  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  in  1811. 


52  PRELIMINARY  CHAPTERS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PREHISTORIC  REMAINS. 

Arch^ological  Work  >  IN  Southeast  Indiana— Purpose  of  Mounds— 
Their  Age— Gen.  Harrison  on  the  Ancient  Fort  at  the  Mouth  of 
THE  Great  Miami— Signal  Stations— Open-air  Work-shops— An- 
cient Fire-places— Stone  Utensils,  Weapons  and  Ornaments- 
Trade  OR  Traffic  Among  the  Pre-historic  Races. 

INTERESTING  archseological  remains  are  found  throughout  southeast 
Indiana.  They  are  the  traces  of  a  people  who  inhabited  the  basins 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio  in  the  distant  past.  Their  elaborate  and 
extensive  earthworks  prove  that  they  were  not  nomadic  tribes,  but  a 
numerous  people,  dwelling  in  fixed  communities,  probably  devoted  to 
agriculture,  and  having  certain  fixed  laws,  customs  and  religious  rites. 
Some  of  these  works  required  an  immense  amount  of  labor  and  consider- 
able engineering  skill.  What  race  of  people  built  these  remarkable 
works  we  shall  probably  never  know,  and  in  the  absence  of  positive 
knowledge,  there  origin  is  referred  to  a  people  called  the  Mound-Builders. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  any  law  governing  the  arrangement  of  either 
the  tumuli  or  fortifications  has  been  discovered.  Both  appear  to  be  more 
numerous  along  the  rivers  than  elsewhere.  It  has  been  thought  by  some 
writers  that  the  archaeology  of  the  Miamis  has  for  its  distinguishing 
feature  a  system  of  strong  fortifications  along  the  two  rivers,  and  that 
the  numerous  mounds  on  the  headlands  and  interior  points  may  have 
been  signal  stations,  commanding  the  whole  region  and  binding  the 
country  together  as  the  seat  of  one  united  nation.  A  more  common  view 
is  that  the  mounds  were  places  of  sepulture  and  memorials  raised  over 
the  dead,  the  largest  mounds  being  erected  in  honor  of  distinguished 
personages.  The  notion  that  they  contain  the  remains  of  vast  heaps  of 
dead  fallen  in  great  battles  is  wholly  unsupported  by  the  facts  obtained 
from  excavations  and  examinations.  But  one  or  two  skeletons  are  usually 
iound  in  these  mounds,  and  where  many  are  found  it  is  probable  that 
the  later  Indians,  and,  in  some  cases,  Europeans,  have  buried  their  dead 
in  them. 

The  New  American  Cyclopedia  assumes,  from  facts  and  circumstances 
deemed  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  arrive  at  approximate  conclusions  con- 
cerning the  antiquity  of  the  Mound-Builders'  records,  that  we  may  infer, 


PRE-HISTORIC  REMAINS.  53 

for  most  of  these  monuments  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  an  age  of  not  less 
than  two  thousand  years.  "By  whom  built,  whether  their  authors 
migrated  to  remote  lands  under  the  combined  attractions  of  a  more  fer- 
tile soil  and  more  genial  clime,  or  whether  they  disappeared  beneath  the 
victorious  arms  of  an  alien  race,  or  were  swept  out  of  existence  by  some 
direful  epidemic  or, universal  famine,  are  questions  probably  beyond  the 
power  of  human  investigations  to  answer.  History  is  silent  concerning 
them  and  their  very  name  is  lost  to  tradition  itself." 

Extensive  pre-historic  forts  and  mounds  are  found  on  both  sides  of 
the  Great  Miami,  near  its  mouth,  which  have  been  accurately  platted  by 
Samuel  Morrison.  Gen.  William  H.  Harrison  took  a  deep  interest  in 
these  works.  "The  work  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,"  he  wrote, 
"was  a  citadel,  more  elevated  than  the  Acropolis  of  Athens,  although 
easier  of  access,  as  it  is  not  like  the  latter,  a  solid  rock,  but  on  three 
sides  as  nearly  perpendicular  as  could  be,  composed  of  earth.  A  large 
space  of  lower  ground  was,  however,  enclosed  by  walls  uniting  it  with 
the  Ohio.  The  foundation  of  that  (being  of  stone,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  citadel)  that  forms  the  western  defense,  is  still  very  visible  where 
it  crosses  the  Miami,  which,  at  the  period  of  its  erection,  must  have  dis- 
charged itself  into  the  Ohio  much  lower  down  than  it  now  does.  I  have 
never  been  able  to  discover  the  eastern  wall  of  this  enclosure,  but  if  its 
direction  from  the  citadel  to  the  Ohio  was  such  as  it  should  have  been, 
to  embrace  the  largest  space  with  the  least  labor,  there  would  not  have 
been  less  than  300  acres  enclosed.  The  same  land  at  this  day,  under 
the  best  cultivation,  will  produce  from  seventy  to  100  bushels  of  corn 
per  acre.  Under  such  as  was  then  probably  bestowed  upon  it,  there 
would  be  much  less,  but  still  enough  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  a 
considerable  settlement  of  people,  remarkable  beyond  all  others  for  ab- 
stemiousness in  their  diet. 

Gen.  Harrison  did  not  believe  the  work  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Miami  and  the  one  at  Circleville  could  have  been  erected  by  the  same 
people  if  both  were  intended  for  military  purposes.  "The  square  at 
Circleville,"  he  says,  "has  such  a  number  of  gateways  as  seem  intended 
to  facilitate  the  entrance  of  those  who  would  attack  it.  And  both  it  and 
the  circle  were  completely  commanded  by  the  mound,  rendering  it  an 
easier  matter  to  take  than  defend  it.  The  engineers,  on  the  contrary, 
who  directed  the  execution  of  the  Miami  works,  appear  to  have  known 
the  importance  of  flank  defenses.  If  their  bastions  are  not  as  perfect, 
as  to  form,  as  those  in  use  in  modern  engineering,  their  position,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  long  lines  of  curtains,  is  precisely  as  it  should  be." 

Dr.  J.  W.  Baxter,  of  Vevay,  gives  the  following  account  of  a  series 
of  mounds,  or  signal  stations,    occupying  prominent  points  along  the 


54  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

Ohio  River,  and  so  located  that  each  may  be  seen  from  the  next  above 
and  below.  These  command  nearly  the  whole  bottom.  From  the  sta- 
tion below  Patriot  the  observer  may  look  across  Gallatin  County,  Ky., 
and  the  valley  of  Eagle  Creek  to  the  height  of  land  in  Owen  County. 
Both  this  mound  and  one  near  Rising  Sun  exhibit  traces  of  fires  that 
may  have  been  used  as  telegraphic  signals  by  the  Mound-Bailders.  The 
mounds  at  the  following  pl-dces  form  a  complete  series,  though  others 
may  have  been  used  when  the  country  was  timbered:  Rising  Sun,  near 
Gunpowder  Creek,  Ky. ;  the  Dibble  Farm,  two  miles  south  of  Patriot; 
the  "North  Hill,"  below  Warsaw,  Ky. ;  the  Taylor  Farm,  below  Log 
Lick  Creek;  opposite  Carrollton,  Ky. ;  below  Carrollton. 

There  are  a  number  of  mounds  in  the  vicinity  of  Aurora,  and  quite  a 
large  mound  was  within  the  city  limits,  but  has  been  almost  entirely  re- 
moved by  cutting  a  street- way  through  it.  Dr.  George  Sutton,  of  Au- 
rora, has  a  large  and  interesting  collection  of  ancient  stone  implements, 
which  he  collected  from  this  county  and  from  Kentucky. 

J.  B.  Gerard,  M.  D.,  in  connection  with  others,  opened  a  mound 
near  the  mouth  of  Laughery  Creek,  in  Ohio  County,  which  was  about 
100  feet  in  diameter  and  fifteen  feet  high;  excavations  were  made  at 
several  places,  and  they  found  human  bones,  one  whole  earthen  pot,  and 
a  great  many  fragments  of  pottery.  Mr.  Stratton  also  found  a  whole  pofc 
in  this  mound,  and  still  another  was  found  by  H.  C.  Miller.  Dr.  Ge- 
rard has  noticed  from  twenty  to  thirty  mounds  along  the  bluffs  of 
Laughery  Creek,  and  has  opened  a  number  of  others,  but  found  nothing 
of  note  except  ashes,  which  lay  at  the  base  of  them  all. 

Dr.  George  W.  Homsher,  of  Fairfield,  Ind.,  in  a  paper  on  the 
"Ancient  Remains  on  Whitewater  River,"  in  the  Smithsonian  Report  of 
18S2,  describes  what  he  terms  "open-air  woi'kshops "  situated  in 
the  valleys  along  the  Whitewater.  Their  location  is  indicated  by  a  vast 
amount  of  broken  cobble-stones  or  chert.  From  the  fragments  it  is  easy 
to  determine  the  kind  of  implement  which  was  manufactured,  whether 
axe,  celt,  pestle,  hammer,  arrow  or  ornament.  These  workshops,  as  a 
general  rule,  are  located  on  the  second  terrace  formation  along  the  river 
or  the  larger  streams  flowing  into  the  river,  and  in  close  proximity  with 
each  shop  is  an  excellent  spring  of  water.  There  is  also  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  workshop  a  signal  mound  or  station,  located  on  the  highest 
hill  or  bluff  along  the  river.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  these  workshops 
is  situated  about  500  yards  northwest  of  Quakertown,  and  covers  about 
two  and  a  half  acres.  At  least  half  a  wagon  load  of  ancient  implements 
have  been  gathered  here,  and  yet  additional  ones  are  still  found.  Dr. 
Homsher  locates  about  a  dozen  open-air  work-shops  along  the  Whitewater. 
The  same  writer  maintains  that  sigfnal   mounds  in  some   instances 


PRE-HISTORIC  REMAINS.  55 

have  been  converted  into  burial  mounds,  probably  after  their  abandon- 
ment as  signal  stations.  "  In  signal  mounds,"  he  says,  "  there  is  only 
one  spot,  and  that  in  the  center,  that  shows  the  action  of  fire,  and 
when  it  has  served  its  purpose  it  is  built  up  in  a  cone  shape  and  aban- 
doned. In  case  it  is  converted  into  a  burial  mound  the  fire  has  been 
extinguished,  the  surface  leveled,  the  dead  deposited,  and  again  another 
layer  of  clay  or  whatever  material  is  used  in  its  construction,  is  symmet- 
rically laid  over  the  dead  to  the  depth  of  six  to  eighteen  inches. 
Over  the  whole  surface  a  fire  once  more  is  started,  the  object 
being  to  burn  the  clay  or  harden  it,  so  that  the  water  will  not  permeate 
it  so  readily  as  it  does  unburnt  clay.  In  doing  this  there  is  no  fear  of 
destroying  the  objects  deposited  below.  Sometimes  where  a  limb  has 
not  been  sufficiently  covered  it  has  been  charred,  which  accounts  for  that 
part  of  the  subject  we  oftentimes  find  in  these  tumuli  that  are  mutilated 
and  attributed  to  cremation." 

It  is  said  that  a  greater  number  of  wild  grapes,  plums,  crab-apples 
and  onions  are  found  growing  near  the  mounds  in  southeast  Indiana  than 
at  a  distance  from  them. 

In  the  Ohio  River  terraces  are  found  some  antiquarian  remains.  In 
the  bottom  below  the  mouth  of  Laughery  Creek,  are  the  remains  of 
what  are  called  ancient  fire-places,  which  are  disclosed  from  time  to  time 
as  the  river  wears  away  the  bank.  R.  H.  Warder  examined  one  which 
"  consisted  of  a  layer  of  boulders  thirteen  feet  from  the  surface.  The 
part  exposed  was  three  feet  across.  Pieces  of  charcoal,  soft  aud  crumb- 
ling, were  found  among  and  under  the  boulders,  while  other  pieces, 
that  had  fallen  out  and  dried  in  the  sunshine,  were  firm.  The  clay  under 
the  boulders  was  red  as  though  burnt.  No  one  could  examine  the  section 
without  being  convinced  of  human  agency  in  the  work." 

In  the  river  bank  opposite  Florence,  there  is  a  layer  of  decomposing 
mussel  shells,  thirty- two  inches  below  the  surface.  The  out-crop  now 
extends  forty  feet,  was  noticed  as  early  as  1847,  when  the  bank  stood 
two  or  three  rods  nearer  the  channel  than  it  now  does.  Similar 
deposits  have  been  observed  elsewhere  in  the  river  terraces. 

Among  the  most  interesting  archaeological  relics  are  the  utensils, 
implements,  weapons  and  personal  ornaments  of  pre-historic  times.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that,  while  most  writers  on  American  antiquities 
make  a  distinction  between  the  Mound -Builders  and  the  tribes  the  whites 
found  in  possession  of  the  country,  such  a  line  of  demarkation  cannot 
well  be  drawn  with  accuracy  with  respect  to  the  stone,  flint  and  copper 
relics.  Some  of  these  relics  may  belong  to  a  pre-historic  race  of  the 
distant  past,  some  to  the  earliest  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  country, 
and   others  to  later  Indians,  whose  mechanical  arts  may  have  been  modi- 


56  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

fied  by  contact  and  trade  with  the  whites.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible 
to  separate  the  relics  of  the  Mound-Builders  from  those  of  the  later 
races.  We  cannot  refer  the  copper  implements  to  any  particular  epoch, 
nor  can  we  determine  when  the  stone  age  began  or  ended.  Stone  imple- 
ments have  been  found  associated  with  the  remains  of  animals  long 
since  extinct,  yet  these  implements  are  not  different  from  those  known  to 
have  been  in  use  among  the  savage  tribes  when  first  seen  by  the  whites. 
With  respect  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  designed,  they  may 
be  divided  into  utensils  for  domestic  use,  implements  for  handicraft, 
weapons  and  ornaments.  With  respect  to  the  materials  from  which  they 
were  fabricated,  they  are  stone,  flint,  slate,  copper,  pottery,  bone,  horn 
and  shell. 

The  most  common  relics  are  the  flint  arrow-heads,  spear-heads  and 
daggers.  Other  flint  implements,  such  as  knives  and  cutting  tools, 
scrapers  and  borers  have  been  found.  Of  stone  relics,  the  most  common 
are  axes  and  hammers,  grooved  so  that  a  forked  branch  or  split  stick 
could  be  fastened  for  a  handle;  balls  more  or  less  round,  probably  used 
as  hand-hammers;  pestles  for  crushing  grain,  and  many  ornaments — 
among  them  flat,  perforated  tubes  of  highly  polished  slate,  and  various 
forms  of  flat  stones,  polished  and  perforated.  Stone  pipes  are  found  of 
various  sizes  and  construction.  Specimens  of  ancient  pottery  have  not 
been  often  found. 

Charles  Rau,  the  author  of  several  valuable  papers  on  American 
antiquities,  has  shown  that  there  was  an  extensive  trade  or  traffic  among 
the  pre-historic  races  of  America.  This  is  rendered  evident  from  the 
fact  that  their  manufactured  articles  consist  of  materials  which  must 
have  been  obtained  from  sources  in  far  distant  localities.  The  materials 
of  which  many  relics  found  in  Indiana  are  composed,  can  only  be  found 
at  a  distance  of  hundreds  of  miles.  The  term  "flint,"  used  to  describe 
the  material  of  which  various  chipped  implements  are  manufactured,  is 
used  to  include  various  kinds  of  hard  and  silicious  stones,  such  as  horn- 
stone,  jasper,  chalcedony  and  different  kinds  of  quartz.  There  have 
been  found  in  the  United  States  places  where  the  manufacture  of  flint 
implements  was  carried  on.  There  was  a  great  demand  for  arrow-beads 
among  the  primitive  tribes,  and  in  places  where  the  proper  kind  of 
material  could  be  found,  there  were  work  shops  for  their  manufacture. 
An  important  locality  to  which  the  aborigines  resorted  for  quarrying 
flint  is  now  called  Flint  Ridge,  and  extends  through  Muskingum  and 
Licking  Counties,  Ohio.  Dr,  Hildreth  says  of  this  ancient  flint  quarry: 
"  The  compact,  silicious  material  of  which  this  ridge  is  made  up 
seems  to  have  attracted  the  notice  of  the  aborigines,  who  have  manufac- 
tured it  largely  into  arrow  ar^  spear  heads,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES.  57 

judge  from  the  numerous  circular  excavations,  which  have  been  made  in 
mining  the  rock,  and  the  piles  of  chipped  quartz  lying  on  the  surface. 
How  extensively  it  has  been  worked  for  these  purposes  may  be  imagined 
from  the  countless  number  of  the  pits,  experience  having  taught  them 
that  the  rock  recently  dug  from  the  earth  could  be  split  with  more  free- 
dom than  that  which  had  lain  exposed  to  the  weather.  These  excava- 
tions are  found  the  whole  length  of  the  outcrop,  but  more  abundantly 
at  'Flint  JElidge,'  where  it  is  most  compact  and  diversified  with  rich 
colors." 

The  greenish,  striped  slate,  of  which  variously  shaped  tablets  are 
made,  is  believed  to  occur  in  no  parts  of  the  Union  except  the  Atlantic 
coast  district,  and  to  have  been  transported,  either  in  a  rough  or  worked 
condition,  from  that  region  to  the  different  parts  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  in  which  the  relics  are  found.  The  copper  used  by  the  aboriginal 
tribes  was  probably  obtained  chiefly  from  the  northern  part  of  Michigan. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PHYSICAL  FEATURES. 


Similarity  of  the  Surface  Features  of  Dearborn,  Ohio  and  Switzer- 
land Counties— Topography— Changes  made  along  the  Ohio- 
Table  OF  Elevations— Stratified  Rooks— Minerals— Drift— Gold- 
Bearing  Drift— Land-Slips— Sink-Holes— Soils. 

THE  three  counties  of  Dearborn,  Ohio  and  Switzerland,  in  southeast 
Indiana,  all  bordering  on  the  majestic  Ohio,  present  such  simi- 
larities in  their  surface  as  to  form  a  district  whose  physical  features  are 
best  described  together.  These  three  counties  are  composed  of  the  same 
geological  formation,  and  indicate  substantially  the  same  geological  his- 
tory. A  description  of  the  topography  and  geology  of  one  would,  in  its 
general  statements,  apply  to  the  rest.  Robert  H.  Warder  grouped  the 
three  counties  together  in  his  report  on  the  geology  of  this  region,  pub- 
lished in  1872.  Free  use  will  be  made  in  this  chapter  of  Warder's. 
Report,  together  with  the  information  contained  in  the  writings  of  Prof. 
Edward  Orton,  of  Ohio.  In  treating  of  the  physical  features  of  this  dis- 
trict, only  the  leading  points  can  be  noticed.  The  attempt  will  be  made 
to  discard  the  technical  terms  of  science,  and  to  treat  the  subject  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  can  be  understood  by  any  reader  of  average  intelligence, 
although  wholly  unacquainted  with  geological  science. 

The  district  extends  forty-three  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  twen- 
ty-one and  one-half  miles  from  east  to  west. 


58  PRELIMINARY  CHAPTERS. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The  district  has  a  diversified  topography,  and  contains  a  great  variety 
of  soil.  Although  each  of  the  counties  has  an  extensive  front  on  the 
Ohio,  and  much  of  the  land  of  the  district  consists  of  Ohio  River  hills, 
yet  there  are  extensive  regions  of  upland  flats  which,  in  a  state  of  nature, 
retained  the  water  most  of  the  year.  In  each  of  the  counties  are  to  be 
found  bottom  lands,  river  terraces,  steep  hill -sides,  broken  uplands  and 
upland  flats.  The  district  contains  some  of  the  richest  and  some  of  the 
poorest  land  in  the  State.  Picturesque  scenery  is  to  be  found  in  the 
district  along  the  Ohio,  and  the  streams  which  fall  into  it,  and  on  the 
uplands  pleasant  vistas  of  four  or  five  miles  may  be  enjoyed  from  favored 
spots.  The  hills  along  the  Ohio  are  said,  perhaps  with  truth,  to  be 
unsurpassed  in  beauty  on  the  globe.  The  roads  leading  from  the  river 
to  the  higher  lands  pass  -along  the  beds  of  streams  between  hills 
which  are  often  beautifully  rounded,  while  the  ridges  slope  gracefully  to 
the  bottoms. 

The  Ohio  River  extends  for  more  than  fifty  miles  along  the  east  and 
south  of  the  district.  The  big  bottoms  of  the  Great  Miami  are  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Dearborn,  and  the  Whitewater  flows  through  the  north- 
east part  of  that  county.  Tanner's  Creek  empties  into  the  Ohio  below 
Lawrenceburgh.  North  and  South  Hogan  Creeks  unite  at  Aurora,  and 
flow  into  the  Ohio.  The  winding  Laughery  Creek  flows  south  in  Ripley 
County,then  turning  northeastward,  forms  the  boundary  between  Dearborn 
and  Ohio  Counties.  The  flood  of  the  Ohio  in  1847  backed  water  up  this 
stream  within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  Ripley  County  line.  The 
streams  of  Switzerland  County  are  all  comparatively  small,  the  principal 
are  Grant's,  Bryant's,  Log  Lick  and  Indian  Creeks.  Some  of  the  streams 
have  considerable  fall,  and  were  early  utililized  for  water-power,  but  as 
the  forests  have  been  cleared  away,  the  water  supply  has  become  less 
constant,  and  many  mills  have  been  abandoned. 

The  Ohio,  with  its  mighty  flood,  causes  many  changes  along  its 
banks,  in  one  place  washing  away  large  tracts,  in  another  extending  the 
land  into  the  river  channel.     On  this  subject  Warder's  Report  says: 

"A  few  examples  of  these  changes  will  be  given:  At  Rising  Sun  it  is 
estimated  that  no  less  than  300  feet  of  the  bank  has  been  washed  away 
within  twenty-five  years.  A  row  of  houses  has  disappeared  which  once 
stood  above  Main  Street,  with  road  and  play-ground  beyond.  The  well 
referred  to,  at  Hickman's  Landing,  was  dug  about  100  feet  from  the 
bank,  but  it  has  been  carried  away  and  much  of  the  bottom  behind  it. 
At  Florence  there  was  but  little  wear  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  bank 
being  protected  by  trees.  About  eighty  feet  of  the  bank  have  been  lost 
at  the  Main  street  within   a  few  years,   and  200  feet  a  short  distance 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES.  59 

below.  Repeated  changes  of  the  river  road  have  been  required  in  maoy 
places. 

The  process  of  land  making  is  also  very  common,  but  I  judge  that 
the  amount  of  material  deposited  will  by  no  means  equal  the  amount 
removed.  There  was  formerly  a  low  island  above  Vevay,  close  to  the 
Indiana  shore.  Steamboats  ascending  the  river  frequently  passed  through 
the  chute  twenty  years  ago.  The  steamer  Kentucky  went  through  as 
late  as  1859.  A  few  tow-heads  were  gradually  formed  about  the  upper 
end.  The  current  was  thus  arrested  and  the  tine  material  held  in  sus- 
pension was  deposited.  When  this  accumulation  had  so  filled  the  chute 
that  the  island  was  connected  with  the  main  land  at  low  water  it  became 
part  of  Indiana;  another  corn-field  has  been  added  to  the  agricultural 
wealth  of  the  State.  A  stump,  which  was  at  the  water's  edge  in  1850, 
to  which  the  fisherman  fastened  his  net,  is  now  several  rods  from  the 
bank.  Land  is  still  forming  among  the  trees  beyond  and  below  the 
island.  Similar  deposits  are  generally  forming  wherever  a  growth  of 
willows  or  other  trees  is  secured  sufficient  to  diminish  the  current  in  time 
of  overflows.  Sometimes,  however,  the  exposed  roots  of  trees  indicate 
that  they  are  not  a  certain  preventive  of  erosion.  The  current  may  be  even 
wearing  the  bottom  at  one  point  while  depositing  silt  immediately  beyond." 

A  table  of  elevations  has  been  prepared  from  various  sources,  and  is 
here  given.     The  figures  give  the  elevation  above  the  ocean: 

Feet. 

Lawrenceburgh 500 

Guilford  (C,  I.,  St.  L.  &  C.  R.  R) 520 

Harman's  (C,  I.,  St.  L.  &  C.  R.  R.) 759 

Weisberg  (C,  I.,  St.  L.  &  C.  R.  R.) 941 

Sunman's(C.,  I.,  St.  L.  &  C.  R.  R.) 1,037 

Summit,  near  Milan  (O.  &  M.  R.  R.) 1,000 

Moorefleld  (turnpike  level) 885 

Quercus  Grove  (turnpike  level) 870 

Dillsborough 785 

"Seminary  Hill,"  near  Vevay 700 

Ridge,  south  of  Guilford*(Aueroid  barometer) 875 

High  points,  southwest  part  of  Switzerland  County  (Aneroid 

barometer) 875 

General  level  of    high  ground  in  the   northwest    part    of 

Switzerland  County 950 

High  point,  near  schoolhouse,  one  mile  south  of  East  Enter- 
prise (turnpike  level) 910 

STRATIFIED    ROCKS    AND    MINERALS. 

'. "'  The  stratified  rocks  of  the  district  belong  to  the  series  formerly 
known  as  the  Blue  Limestone,  and  sometimes  called  the  Hudson  River 
Group.  The  modern  name  for  the  rock  is  the  Cincinnati  Group.  These 
rocks  belong  geologically  to  the  Hudson  River  Period,  the  Lower  Silu- 
rian Age  and  the  Paleozoic  Era.     They  are  found  in  the  southeast  part  of 


60  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

Indiana,  the  southwest  part  of  Ohio,  and  in  a  considerable  area  of  Ken- 
tucky. They  ax-e  exposed  in  bluffs  along  the  Ohio  from  Maysville,  Ky., 
to  the  mouth  of  Fourteen  Mile  Creek  in  Clark  County,  Ind.  The  strata 
of  the  Cincinnati  Gi'oup  foi'm  the  floor  of  nearly  the  whole  of  Dearborn, 
Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties.  The  blueish  tinge  of  the  rocks  is  due 
to  the  presence  of  an  oxide  of  iron.  Exposure  often  changes  the  color 
to  a  light  gray  or  drab.  The  rocks  of  this  formation  abound  in  well- 
preserved  fossils,  often  of  great  beauty.  The  fossiliferous  remains  occur 
in  such  numbers  and  are  so  well  preserved,  that  the  attention  of  the 
most  careless  observer  is  directed  to  them  in  the  stones  by  the  wayside 
and  in  the  village  pavements.  There  are  a  few  exposures  of  Upper 
Silurian  rocks  in  the  district,  but  their  boundaries  have  not  yet  been 
accurately  mapped. 

The  limestone  seldom  occurs  in  layers  of  more  than  eight  inches. 
There  is  an  apparent  layer  of  sixteen  inches  in  the  Lawrenceburg  quarry, 
but  it  is  separated  into  two  or  three  by  partings  of  clay.  Neither  does 
the  marl  occur  in  uninterrupted  beds  of  any  great  thickness.  Near  Ris- 
ing Sun  there  is  an  exposure  of  twenty  feet,  or  more,  of  blue  clay,  with 
no  limestone  more  than  an  inch  or  two  thick;  but  even  here,  there  is  a 
very  thin  layer  of  solid  rock  at  every  foot  or  few  inches.  The  blue  lime- 
stone is  broken  by  vertical  joints  at  intervals  of  a  few  feet  or  less.  The 
largest  piece  observed  was  at  Vevay,  about  10x6  feet.  The  pieces  often 
approximate  to  the  parallelogram  in  shape;  sometimes  this  feature  is 
very  striking,  where  the  layer  is  divided  into  bits  by  two  sets  of  nearly 
parallel  joints,  not  running  at  right  angles.  A  weathered  stone  often 
exhibits  very  narrow  parallel  grooves  on  the  upper  surface.  By  breaking 
the  specimen  they  are  seen  to  extend  through  one  fourth,  more  or  less, 
of  its  thickness. 

At  the  quarries  near  St.  Leon,  Dearborn  County,  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  series,  the  rock  is  compact  and  bears  hammer  dressing  much  better 
than  the  average  rock  of  this  formation.  On  exposure  it  becomes  gray. 
This  change  begins  at  the  surface,  and  gradually  reaches  the  center. 
While  this  is  in  progress,  the  two  colors  are  not  blended,  but  the  gray 
and  the'  blue  remain  very  distinct. 

Among  the  lowest  Lower  Silurian  rocks  exposed  are  layers  of  compact 
stone  of  comparatively  dark  color  and  abounding  in  fossils.  This  rock 
crops  out  in  Millersburg,  one  mile  from  Florence,  and  at  other  points  on 
the  river.  The  stone  is  quarried  nearly  opposite  Rising  Sun,  at  low 
water,  and  used  for  tombstones  under  the  name  of  "Kentucky  marble." 
It  receives  a  beautiful  polish,  when  the  fossils  are  very  distinct;  some 
dull  spots  probably  indicate  the  position  of  concretions  through  the  rock. 
Small  cavities  lined  with  calc  spar  sometimes  occur  and  small  crystals  of 
iron  pyrites  are  frequent.      Slabs  are  quarried  as  large  as  desired. 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES. 


61 


Blue  limestone  for  building  purposes  is  everywhere  abundant.  Very 
little  of  it  will  bear  dressing.  Few  quarries  are  extensively  worked,  as 
this  stone  may  be  picked  up  from  the  beds  of  creeks. 

Lime  for  home  consumption  is  burned  from  the  blue  limestone. 
Hydraulic  cement  is  made  from  the  quarry  near  Bennington. 

Gravel  suitable  for  roads,  is  found  at  many  places  in  the  river  ter- 
races, including  those  of  the  Whitewater  and  Miami.  Deposits  are  not 
often  accessible  on  the  high  lands. 

Molding  sand  for  heavy  work  has  been  procured  from  the  railroad 
cut  near  Newton. 

The  manufacture  of  salt  was  carried  on  in  early  times  when  trans- 
portation was  difficult;  but  this  industry  was  long  ago  abandoned,  as 
there  are  no  salt  wells  or  springs  strong  enough  to  make  it  profitable. 
There  was  a  Government  salt  reservation  on  Section  25,  Township  6, 
Range  1  west.  Salt  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  the  Indians  on  Grant's 
Creek  at  the  Mineral  Springs. 

Good  bog  iron  ore  occurs  in  many  parts  of  the  broken  upland,  but  has 
not  been  seen  elsewhere.  In  each  spot  it  seems  confined  to  a  few  rods  or 
a  few  acres  near  the  hilltop,  but  several  outcrops  occur  near  one  locality, 
as  near  Quercus  Grove.  There  are  ledges  from  six  to  fourteen  inches 
thick,  but  the  stratum  is  seldom  continuous,  being  divided  into  pieces  a 
yard  or  less  in  diameter.  Drift  pebbles  occur  through  the  mass  in  many 
cases.  The  ore  is  most  frequently  noticed  at  the  surface,  or  where  struck 
by  the  plow,  but  it  has  been  seen  eight  or  nine  feet  deep. 

DRIFT. 

There  is  more  or  less  drift  on  nearly  all  the  high  land.  Northwest  of 
Manchester,  at  Fairview,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  upland  flats,  the  lime- 
stone is  overlaid  with  unstratitied  blue  clay,  containing  pebbles  and 
boulders,  many  of  which  bear  glacial  scratches.  The  impervious  nature 
of  this  clay  determines,  to  a  great  extent,  the  agricultural  character  of 
the  "crawfish  flats."  Much  of  the  drift  has  been  removed  by  erosion 
from  the  broken  upland,  but,  even  on  the  hills,  some  pebbles  are  found 
(occasionally  scratched)  which  must  be  referred  to  this  source.  Boulders 
are  common  in  each  of  the  counties,  some  of  them  three  or  four  feet  in 
diameter. 

An  interesting  specimen,  found  near  Tanner's  Creek  below  Weisburg, 
was  a  piece  of  native  copper,  weighing  twenty-six  ounces,  which  must 
have  been  brought  by  natural  agencies  from  the  Lake  Superior  region. 

An  unusual  amount  of  pebbly  drift  occurs  on  the  hills  near  Florence, 
and  at  the  base  is  a  mass  of  clay  mingled  with  pebbles,  on  which  no 
scratches  are  observed. 

At  Hartford  there  is  a  remarkable  accumulation  of  drift,  chiefly  rest- 


62  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

ing  against  the  north  face  of  the  native  hill.  Between  the  bottoms  of 
Laughery  Creek  and  the  hilltop,  the  deposit  is  about  200  feet  high,  with 
a  beautiful  grassy  surface,  divided  by  narrow  dells.  An  outcrop  through 
the  soil  shows  nothing  but  cemented  gravel.  Time  has  been  wasted  here 
in  searching  for  lead.  Sand,  with  some  cemented  layers,  was  found  near 
the  top.  At  the  base  are  slabs  of  blue  and  gray  limestone,  mingled  with 
clay,  a  variety  of  pebbles,  and  flattened  ferruginous  concretions,  which 
consist  of  concentric  layers  or  are  hollow.  A  trilobite  (Calymene),  with  the 
form  and  markings  uninjured,  was  here  associated  with  scratched  pebbles. 
In  one  of  the  prospect  holes  there  is  about  twelve  feet  of  quicksand  in  a 
basin  of  a  native  rock.  Large  crystalline  boulders  abound  south  and 
southwest  of  Hartford,  occupying  a  space  one  mile  east  and  west  by  one- 
fourth  mile  north  and  south,  ia  a  valley  that  opens  toward  Laughery 
Creek.  Two  or  three  small  streams  flow  northward  across  this  valley  to 
the  creek. 

GOLD    BEARING    DRIFT. 

In  the  drift  are  deposits  composed  of  crystalline  rocks  with  large 
quartz  and  granite  boulders,  magnetic  iron  ore  in  the  form  of  black  sand, 
and  gold  dust  and  nuggets.  George  Sutton,  M.  D.,  of  Aurora,  in  a 
paper  on  the  "  Gold  Bearing  Drift  of  Indiana"  read  before  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  oE  Science  at  Cincinnati,  August, 
1881,  said  : 

"Along  the  valley  of  Laughery  Creek,  a  stream  which  enters  the 
Ohio  River  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  may  be  seen 
deposits  of  this  auriferous  drift.  They  are  not  stratified  like  the  terrace 
formations  seen  along  our  rivers,  but  lie  in  irregular  accumulations 
along  the  valley.  At  the  bottom  of  the  small  streams  that  have  cut 
across  this  drift  are  seen  deposits  of  black  sand  already  alluded  to,  which 
principally  consist  of  magnetic  iron  ore.  It  is  in  this  sand  that  gold  is 
found.  Seven  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Laughery  may  be  seen  a  deposit 
of  this  drift  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  nearly  half  a  mile  in 
width,  and  about  one  hundred  feet  in  thickness.  ***** 
Some  portions  of  the  Laughery  drift  are  so  rich  in  gold  that  it  is 
seen  with  the  unaided  eye,  and  almost  pays  a  fair  remuneration  washing 
for  it.  My  attention  was  directed  a  few  weeks  since,  by  the  owner  of  the 
farm  on  which  this  drift  is  found,  to  a  small  excavation  which  had  been 
made  in  washing  for  gold.  It  was  by  measurement  six  feet  long,  five  feet 
broad  and  about  two  feet  deep.  He  informed  me  that  from  this  place 
$8  worth  of  gold  had  been  obtained,  and  that  a  man  had  washed  from 
the  drift  on  his  farm  gold  to  the  value  of  $16.50.  The  gold  is  found  in 
the  form  of  dust,  flattened  scales,  and  small  nuggets.  Only  that  which 
could  be  seen  with  the  unaided  eye  was  saved." 


PHYSICAL   FEATURES.  63 

Dr.  Sutton  traced  the  gold-bearing  drift  in  a  line  across  the  State  of 
Indiana  northwestward  to  Illinois  and  argued  for  the  existence  of  rich 
veins  of  gold  north  of  the  great  lakes. 

LAND- SLIPS    AND    SINK-HOLES. 

A  common  phenomenon  is  the  land-slip,  especially  on  the  steep  river 
hills.  The  clay,  being  wet  with  spring  rains,  becomes  slippery  and  too 
soft  to  support  the  weight  above.  Part  of  the  hillside  slips  down  by  its 
own  weight,  forming  a  bench  where  the  material  accumulates.  A  greater 
depth  of  soil  is  retained  on  the  benches  than  on  the  steeper  part  of  the 
slope. 

Another  interesting  phenomenon  is  the  formation  of  sink-holes. 
These  are  most  abundant  in  the  soils  overlying  the  Upper  Silurian  rocks, 
or  the  upper  part  of  the  Lower  Silui'ian,  where  the  water,  sinking  through 
the  soil,  wears  away  a  channel  by  dissolving  the  rock,  and  the  soil,  no 
longer  supported,  falls  in.  A  very  common  form  is  that  of  an  inverted 
hollow  cone.  This  may  increase  if  the  water  is  allowed  to  wash  down 
more  and  more  of  the  soil  to  the  channel  below,  but  if  it  becomes  sodded 
over  (especially  when  filled  with  brush  or  rubbish),  the  wash  may  be  ar- 
rested, and  the  sink  be  converted  into  a  pond,  and  gradually  tilled  up. 

When  the  surface  soil  is  matted  together  by  the  roots  of  grass,  it  will 
keep  its  place  long  after  the  cavity  has  begun  to  form,  until  finally  some 
horse  puts  his  hoof  upon  the  fragile  roofing,  and  a  cavity  is  revealed 
large  enough  to  hide  the  whole  animal.  The  next  year  the  hole  may  be 
filled. 

A  series  of  sink-holes  sometimes  points  out  the  vein  of  water,  when  a 
well  is  to  be  sunk;  or  an  opening  in  a  layer  of  rock,  when  a  quarry  is  to 
be  opened. 

SOILS. 

The  typical  soil  of  the  upland  flats  is  derived  from  true  drift,  with 
which  it  is  underlaid.  It  consists  chiefly  of  stiff,  cold,  wet  clay,  of  ashen 
color.  Water  stands  on  the  surface  after  rain.  The  soil  is  shallow,  for 
it  is  too  stiff  and  close  to  let  the  roots  and  moisture  penetrate  readily. 
The  subsoil,  when  wet,  is  very  sticky;  it  adheres  to  the  spade  like  putty. 
When  dry,  it  is  very  hard;  the  spade  will  not  penetrate  it.  The  ground 
near  the  watersheds  is  called  crawfish  land,  from  the  abundance  of  these 
animals.  Their  holes  retain  water  all  summer.  Where  there  is  more 
natural  drainage  this  is  not  the  case.  Toward  the  broken  land,  in  all 
directions,  the  soil  is  more  yellow  and  mellow,  and  appears  to  have  a 
larger  proportion  of  sand. 

On  the  broken  upland  the  amount  of  drift  varies  according  to  the 
thickness  of  the  original  deposit,  and  the  amount  lost  by  erosion.  The 
limestone  and  marl  add  to  the  fertility  where  they  are  exposed  to  the  air 


64  PRELIMINARY   CHAPTERS. 

or  streams.  In  some  parts  the  rock  crops  out  at  the  surface,  in  others 
there  are  many  drift  pebbles,  the  clay  having  been  removed;  in  still  oth- 
ers, the  digging  of  wells  shows  the  true,  unmodified  drift.  These  soils 
are  yellow,  except  where  a  large  amount  of  organic  matter  has  accumulat- 
ed, as  in  the  native  forest,  or  by  the  use  of  green  manure.  Although 
the  vegetable  mold  is  generally  more  abundant  on  the  hillsides  than 
here,  yet  the  soil  has  the  advantage  of  retaining  the  moisture  better  than 
that  which  is  darker  and  more  mellow. 

The  still  more  broken  land,  including  the  hillsides,  contains  in  the 
blue  limestone  formation  all  the  mineral  ingredients  essential  to  perpet- 
ual fertility,  but  these  must  be  modified  by  disintegration  and  the  addi- 
tion of  organic  matter,  before  they  can  be  appropriated  by  the  plant. 
Some  steep,  barren  hillsides  are  practically  worthless.  Having  been 
cleared,  or  bearing  but  little  timber,  they  do  not  support  even  a  good 
crop  of  weeds.  The  soil  is  washed  ofif  as  fast  as  it  is  formed.  In  more 
favored  localities,  a  thin,  white  clay  soil  accumulates  sufficient  to  produce 
a  scanty  crop  of  wheat.  In  still  others  the  forest  leaves  are  mingled 
with  the  soil,  or  a  crop  of  clover  has  been  plowed  in,  furnishing  the  or- 
ganic matter  that  is  needed  to  make  the  rich,  "black  hillsides."  Note 
the  fertile  slopes  near  Rising  Sun,  where  the  hills  are  covered  with  a 
garland  of  trees.  A  farm  on  Grant's  Creek  produced  satisfactory  crops 
of  corn  and  wheat  for  fifty  years,  when  it  was  thought  necessary  to  re- 
store the  land  simply  by  raising  hay.  This  is  not  an  exceptional  in- 
stance, for  the  hillside  farmers  claim  that  a  proper  rotation  is  alone  nec- 
essary to  maintain  the  fertility  unimpaired. 

The  terrace  soils  remain  to  be  described.  They  are  derived  entirely 
from  modified  drift  and  material  washed  from  the  several  formations  of 
the  Ohio  Valley.  The  ingredients  are  so  varied  that  no  essential  mineral 
element  is  wanting.  The  creek  deposits  derived  from  the  blue  limestone 
resemble  the  hillside  soil,  in  being  stiff,  clayey  and  whitish  wherever 
the  organic  matter  'is  exhausted,  but  with  this  ingredient  the  creek  soil 
is  very  similar  to  the  rich,  black  hillsides. 

The  gravel  of  the  river  terraces  would  easily  admit  the  air  and  rain, 
and  quickly  yield  to  these  decomposing  agencies,  producing  good  land. 
Some  terraces  contain  gravel  only  a  foot  below  the  surface,  in  others  the 
soil  is  deep.  There  may  be  an  understratum  of  coarse  or  fine  gravel,  or 
even  of  fine  clay.  Some  river  terraces  are  very  sandy,  as  the  low  bottom 
above  Rising  Sun.  Some  are  stiff  and  clayey,  as  a  narrow  strip  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Sand  Run  ;  this  may  be  attributed  to  material  washed 
from  the  hill  sides.  The  recent  river  deposits  are  always  fertile,  and 
where  a  frequent  addition  of  river  mud  can  be  secured,  no  apprehension 
is  entertained  that  the  land  will  be  exhausted. 


HISTORY  OF 

DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES 


CHAPTER  I. 

LOCHRY'S  DISASTROUS  DEFEAT. 

George  Rogers  Clark  Proposes  an  Expedition  Against  the  North- 
west Indians— Col.  Lochry's  Force  in  Aid  of  That  Expedition— 
His  March  to  Wheeling— Misfortunes  of  His  Men— Want  of  Am- 
munition and  Provisions— Slow  Voyage  down  the  Ohio— Landing 
ON  the  Indiana  Shore  —  Surprise  —  Defeat— Massacre  of  the 
Colonel  and  Other  Prisoners— LiUut.  Anderson's  Journal— The 
Proper  Orthography  of  the  Name  of  the  Commander— List  of  the 
Killed  AND  Wounded. 

THE  surprise  and  defeat  of  Archibald  Lochry  and  the  massacre  of 
his  men  is  the  first  conflict  on  record  between  the  Indians  and  the 
whites  on  the  soil  of  Indiana.  It  took  place  in  the  last  year  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary war  and  was  really  one  of  the  battles  of  the  Revolution,  as  the 
Indians  engaged  in  it  were  allies  of  the  British.  The  winding  stream 
which  forms  the  boundary  between  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties,  at  the 
mouth  of  which  the  bloody  battle  was  fought,  bears  the  name  of  the  un- 
fortunate colonel  who  there  lost  his  life.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chap- 
ter to  give  all  the  facts  now  known  concerning  Col.  Lochry's  expedition 
and  its  disastrous  termination. 

We  have  accounts  of  the  expedition  by  two  men  who  participated  in 
it — Capt.  Robert  Orr  and  Lieut.  Isaac  Anderson.  Capt.  Orr,  whose 
account  is  published  in  Western  Annals,  was  wounded  by  having  his  arm 
broken  in  the  engagement ;  he  was  carried  off  a  prisoner  to  Sandusky, 
where  he  remained  several  months;  at  length,  finding  that  they  could^not 
cure  his  wound,  the  Indians  took  him  to  the  hospital  at  Detroit,  whence 
he  was  transferred  to  Montreal  in  the  winter,  and  exchanged  with  other 
prisoners  at  the  end  of  the  war  ;  afterward  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of 
Armstrong  County,  Penn.,  which  position  he  held  at  his  death,  in  1833, 


66  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

in  his  eighty- ninth  year.  Lieut.  Anderson's  account  is  published  in  Mc- 
Bride's  Pioneer  Biographies  of  Butler  County,  Ohio.  The  date  of  the 
engagement,  as  given  by  Gapt.  Orr,  is  August  25,  1781,  by  Lieut.  Ander- 
son, Aucrust  24.  The  latter  is  probably  the  correct  date,  as  Anderson  kept 
a  journal  during  the  expedition. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1781,  Col.  Ai'chibald  Lochry,  who  was 
county  lieutenant  of  Westmoreland  County,  Penn,,  was  requested  by 
Col.  George  Rogers  Clark  to  raise  a  military  force  and  join  him  in  a 
contemplated  military  movement  against  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  North- 
west, Capt.  Orr,  by  his  own  exertions,  raised  a  company  of  volunteer 
riflemen.  Capts.  Stokely  and  Shannon  commanded  each  a  company  of 
rangers,  and  Capt.  Campbell  a  company  of  horse.  The  party  amounted 
to  107  men.  Col.  Lochry  was  the  only  field  oflficer  in  command.  It 
was  Col.Clark's  original  intention  to  rendezvous  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Miami,  and  to  proceed  up  that  river  with  his  expedition,  but  he  subse- 
quently changed  his  plan  and  ordered  Col.  Lochry  to  follow  him  to  the 
falls  of  the  Ohio. 

The  force  was  rendezvoused  at  Carnahan's  block-house,  eleven  miles 
west  of  Hannastown,  July  24,  and  on  the  next  day  they  set  out  for 
Fort  Henry  (Wheeling)  by  way  of  Pittsburgh,  where  it  was  arranged  that 
they  should  join  the  army  under  Clark.  On  arriving  there  it  was  found 
that  Clark  had  gone  twelve  miles  down  the  river,  leaving  for  them  some 
provisions  and  a  traveling  boat,  with  directions  to  follow  him.  After 
preparing  some  temporary  boats  for  the  transportation  of  the  men  and 
horses,  which  occupied  ten  days,  they  proceeded  to  join  Clark.  Arriving 
at  the  place  where  he  had  halted,  they  found  he  had  gone  down  the  river 
the  day  before,  leaving  Maj.  Creacroft  with  a  few  men  and  a  boat  for 
transportation  of  the  horses,  but  without  either  provisions  or  ammuni- 
tion, of  which  they  had  an  inadequate  supply.  Clark,  had,  however, 
promised  to  await  their  arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha  River,  but 
on  reaching  that  point,  they  found  that  he  had  been  obliged,  in  order  to 
prevent  desertion  among  his  men,  to  proceed  down  the  river,  leaving 
only  a  letter  fixed  to  a  pole  directing  them  to  follow. 

Their  provisions  and  forage  were  nearly  exhausted;  there  was  no 
source  of  supply,  but  the  stores  conveyed  by  Clark;  the  river  was  low  and 
they  were  unacquainted  with  the  channel,  and  could  not  therefore  hope 
to  overtake  him.  Under  these  embarrassing  circumstances  Col.  Lochry 
dispatched  Capt.  Shannon  with  four  men  in  a  small  boat  with  the  hope 
of  overtaking  the  main  army  and  securing  supplies,  leaving  Capt.  Shan- 
non's company  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Isaac  Anderson.  Before 
Capt.  Shannon  and  his  men  had  proceeded  far  they  were  taken  prisoners 
by  the  Indians,  and  with  them  was  taken  a  letter  to  Clark,  detailing  the 


LOCHRY'S  DISASTROUS  DEFEAT.  67 

situation  of  Lochry's  party.  About  the  same  time  Col.  Lochry  arrested 
a  party  of  nineteen  deserters  from  Clark's  army,  whom  he  afterward 
released,  and  they  immediately  joined  the  Indians. 

The  savages  had  been  apprised  of  the  expedition,  but  had  previously 
supposed  that  Clark  and  Lochry  were  traveling  together,  and  through 
fear  of  the  cannon  which  Clark  carried  refrained  from  making  an  attack. 
Apprised  now  by  the  capture  of  Shannon  and  his  men  and  by  the  reports 
of  the  deserters,  of  the  weakness  of  Lochry's  party,  they  collected  in 
force  below  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  with  the  determination  to 
destroy  them.  They  placed  these  prisoners  in  a  conspicuous  position  on 
the  north  shore  of  the  Ohio,  near,  it  was  said,  the  head  of  an  island,  and 
promised  to  spare  their  lives  on  condition  that  they  would  hail  their 
companions  as  they  passed  and  induce  them  to  surrender.  This  island  is 
about  three  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  creek  named  after  the  Com- 
mander. 

Col.  Lochry  and  his  men  made  slow  progress  in  descending  the  Ohio, 
and  despairing  of  overtaking  Clark's  army,  they  landed,  August  24, 
about  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  a  very  attractive  spot  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  about  ten  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Miami.  Here  they  removed  their  horses  ashore  and 
turned  them  loose  to  graze.  One  of  the  party  had  killed  a  buffalo,  and 
all,  except  a  few  set  to  guard  the  horses,  were  engaged  around  the  fires 
which  they  had  kindled  in  preparing  a  meal  from  it.  Suddenly  thev 
were  assailed  by  a  volley  of  rifle  balls  from  an  overhanging  bluff,  covered 
with  large  trees,  on  which  the  Indians  immediately  appeared  in  great 
force.  The  men  thus  surprised,  seized  their  arms  and  defended  them- 
selves as  long  as  their  ammunition  lasted,  and  then  attempted  to  escape  by 
means  of  their  boats.  But  the  boats  were  unwieldy,  the  water  was  low, 
and  the  force  too  much  weakened  to  make  them  available,  and  the  whole 
party,  unable  to  escape  or  defend  themselves,  were  compelled  to  surrender. 

Immediately  the  Indians  [fell  upon  and  massacred  Col.  Lochry  and 
several  other  prisoners,  but  were  restrained  by  the  arrival  of  the  chief 
who  commanded  them,  the  celebrated  Brant,  who  afterward  apologized 
for  the  massacre.  He  did  not  approve,  he  declared,  of  such  conduct, 
but  it  was  impossible  entirely  to  control  his  Indians.  The  murder  of  the 
prisoners  was  perpetrated  in  revenge  for  the  massacre  of  the  Indian 
prisoners  taken  by  Broadhead's  army  on  the  Muskingum  a  few  months 
before.  The  Indians  engaged  numbered  300  or  more,  and  consisted 
of  various  tribes,  among  whom  the  prisoners  and  plunder  were  divided 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  warriors  of  each  tribe  engaged. 

The  next  day  they  set  out  on  their  return  to  the  Delaware  towns.  There 
they  were  met  by  a  party  of  British   and  Indians,    commanded  by  Col. 


68  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Caldwell  and  accompanied  by  the  two  Girty's  andMcKee,  who  professed 
to  be  on  their  way  to  the  falls  to  attack  George  Rogers  Clark.  They  re- 
mained there  two  days.  Brant,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  Indians,  re- 
turned with  Caldwell  toward  the  Ohio.  A  few  only  remained  to  take 
charge  of  the  prisoners  and  spoils.  These  they  separated  and  took  to 
the  towns  to  which  they  were  assigned.  The  prisoners  remained  in  cap- 
tivity until  the  next  year,]which  brought  the  Revolutionary  war  to  a  close. 
More  than  one-half  of  the  number  who  left  Pennsylvania  under  Col. 
Lochry  never  returned. 

The  foregoing*account  is  substantially  that  given  by  Capt.  Orr.  Some 
doubt  has  been  expressed  whether  Brant  was  the  leader  of  the  Indians  at 
the  time  referred  to,  there  being  no  other  evidence  that  he  was  then  in 
the  West.  James  McBride,  in  his  sketch  of  Isaac  Anderson,  says  that  the 
Indians  who  were  waiting  opposite  the  island  below  to  intercept  the  party, 
were  informed  of  the  landing  of  the  whites  by  runners.  According  both 
to  McBride  and  Anderson  there  were  two  attacking  parties  of  Indians, 
one  in  the  woods  and  the  other  in  canoes  on  the  river. 

Lieut.  Isaac  Anderson  kept  a  daily  journal  from  the  time  he  set  out 
on  the  expedition  until  his  return,  which  was  published  in  McBride's 
Pioneer  Biographies.  Although  the  events  are  briefly  recorded,  it  em- 
bodies, probably,  the  most  authentic  account  of  the  expedition  in  exist- 
ence. We  insert  without  abridgment  the  first  part  of  the  journal  cover- 
ing the  month  of  August,  preserving  the  original  spelling  of  proper 
names. 

JOURNAL. 

"August  1st,  1781. — We  met  at  Colonel  Carnahan's  in  order  to  form  a 
body  of  men  to  join  General  Clark  on  the  expedition  against  the  In- 
dians. 

"Aug.  2d. — Rendezvoused  at  said  place. 

"Aug.  3d. — Marched  under  command  of  Colonel  Lochry  to  Maracle's 
mill,  about  83  in  number. 

"Aug.  4th. — Crossed  Youghagani a  river. 

"Aug.  5th. — Marched  to  Devor's  ferry. 

"Aug.  6th. — To  Raccoon  settlement. 

"Aug.  7th. — To  Captain  Mason's. 

"Aug.  8th. — To  Wheeling  Fort,  and  found  Clark  was  started  down  the 
river  about  twelve  hours. 

"Aug.  9th. — Col.  Lochry  sent  a  quartermaster  and  officer  of  the  horse 
after  him,  which  overtook  him  at  Middle  Island  and  returned;  then 
started  all  our  foot  troops  on  seven  boats  and  our  horses  by  land  to 
Grave  Creek. 

"Aug.  13th. — Moved  down  to  Fishing  Creek;  we  took  up  Lieut.  Baker 


LOCHRY'S  DISASTROUS  DEFEAT.  71 

and  16  men,  deserting  from  Gen.  Clark,  and  went  that  day  to  middle  of 
Long  Reach,  where  we  stayed  that  night. 

"Aug.  15th. — To  the  Three  Islands,  where  we  found  Major  Creacroft 
waiting  on  us  with  a  horse-boat.  He,  with  his  guard,  six  men,  started 
that  night  after  Gen.  Clark. 

"Aug.  16th. — Colonel  Lochry  detailed  Capt.  Shannon  with  7  men  and 
letter  after  Gen.  Clark,  and  we  moved  that  day  to  the  Little  Connaway 
(Kanawha)  with  all  our  horses  on  board  the  boats. 

"Aug.  17th. — Two  men  went  out  to  hunt  who  never  returned  to  us. 
We  moved  that  day  to  Buffalo  Island. 

"Aug.  18th.— To  Cattish  Island. 

"Aug.  19th.— To  Bare  Banks. 

"Aug.  20th. — We  met  with  two  of  Shannon's  men,  who  told  us  they 
had  put  to  shore  to  cook,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Siotha  (Scioto)  where 
Shannon  sent  them  and  a  sergeant  out  to  hunt.  When  they  got  about 
half  a  mile  in  the  woods  they  heard  a  number  of  guns  fire  which  they 
supposed  to  be  Indians  firing  on  the  rest  of  the  party,  and  they  immedi- 
ately took  up  the  river  to  meet  us;  but,  unfortunately,  the  sergeant's 
knife  dropped  on  the  ground  and  it  ran  directly  through  his  foot  and  he 
died  of  the  wound  in  a  few  minutes.     We  sailed  all  night. 

"Aug.  21st. — We  moved  to  the  Two  Islands. 

"Aug.  22d. — To  the  Sassafras  Bottom. 

"Aug.  23d.— Went  all  day  and  all  night. 

"Aug.  24th. — Col.  Lochry  ordered  the  boats  to  land  on  the  Indian 
shore,  about  10  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  great  Meyamee  (Miami) 
river  to  cook  provisions  and  cut  grass  for  the  horses,  when  we  were  fired 
on  by  a  party  of  Indians  from  the  bank.  We  took  to  our  boats,  expect- 
ing to  cross  the  river,  and  was  fired  on  by  another  party  in  a  number  of 
canoes,  and  soon  we  became  a  prey  to  them.  They  killed  the  Col.  and  a 
number  more  after  they  were  prisoners.  The  number  of  our  killed  was 
about  forty.  They  marched  us  that  night  about  eight  miles  up  the  river 
and  encamped. 

"Aug.  25th. — We  marched  eight  miles  up  the  Meyamee  river  and  en- 
camped. 

"Aug.  26th. — Lay  in  camp. 

"Aug.  27th.  — The  party  that  took  us  was  joined  by  one  hundred  white 
men  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Thompson  and  three  hundred  Indians 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  McKee. 

"Aug.  28th.— The  whole  of  the  Indians  and  whites  went  down  against 
the  settlements  of  Kentucky,  excepting  a  sergeant  and  eighteen  men, 
which  were  left  to  take  care  of  sixteen  prisoners  and  stores  that  were 
left  there.      We  lay  there  until  the  fifteenth  of  Sept. 


72  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUNTIES. 

"Sept.  15th,  1781. — We  started  toward  the  Shawna  towns  on  our  way 
to  Detroit." 

To  brietly  narrate  the  remainder  of  the  journal:  Lieut.  Anderson 
arrived  at  Detroit,  October  11,  and  was  confined  in  the  citadel;  was 
taken  in  a  sloop  to  Niagara  Fort;  thence  to  Montreal,  where  he  scaled 
the  pickets,  and  made  his  way  to  his  home  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
arrived  in  July,  1782. 

Eemembering  the  beautiful  and  fertile  bottom  of  the  Miami  River, 
which  he  had  traversed  when  a  captive,  in  after  years  he  resolved  to 
possess  a  portion  of  that  fertile  soil.  Accordingly  he  purchased  a  sec- 
tion of  land  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Great  Miami,  near  the  mouth  of 
Indian  Creek,  in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  and  in  1812  removed  thereon 
with  his  family,  and  there  resided  until  his  death  in  1839,  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age. 

The  fate  of  Col.  Lochry  and  his  men  was  not  known  to  their  relatives 
and  friends  for  several  months  after  their  defeat.  In  a  letter  from  Gen. 
"William  Irvine  to  Gen.  Washington,  dated  Fort  Pitt,  December  29, 
1781,  an  account  of  the  disaster  is  communicated,  and  the  writer  adds: 
"  These  misfortunes  throw  the  people  of  this  country  into  the  greatest 
consternation  and  almost  despair,  particularly  Westmoreland  County, 
Lochry' s  party  being  all  the  best  men  of  their  frontier."  Lochry 's  mis- 
fortunes compelled  Col.  Clark  to  abandon  his  expedition. 

In  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Ohio  is  the  following  account  by 
Col.  John  Johnson,  of  one  of  the  prisoners,  who  was  living  with  the 
Indians  in  Logan  County,  Ohio,  at  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  of 
that  county:  "  James  McPherson,  or  Squa-la-kake,  'the  red-faced  man,' 
was  a  native  of  Carlisle,  Cumberland  Co.,  Penn.  He  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio,  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami,  in 
Loughry's  defeat;  was  many  years  engaged  in  the  British  Indian  depart- 
ment under  Elliott  and  McKee;  married  a  fellow-prisoner;  came  into 
our  service  after  Wayne's  treaty  of  1795,  and  continued  in  charge  of  the 
Shawnese  and  Senecas  of  Lewistown  until  his  removal  from  office  in 
1830,  since  which  he  died." 

Some  of  the  accounts  of  this  disaster,  which  have  found  their  way 
into  valuable  historical  works,  are  inaccurate.  Some  of  them  say  the 
landing  was  on  the  Kentucky  side.  According  to  the  account  in  Col- 
lin's History  of  Kentucky,  one  of  the  boats  was  taken  to  the  Kentucky 
side,  and  Capt.  William  Campbell's  men  began  cooking  buifalo  meat. 
The  men  were  assailed  from  the  overhanging  Kentucky  bank,  and  as  soon 
as  the  boats  began  to  move  another  large  body  of  Indians  on  the  Indiana 
side  rushed  out  on  the  sand  bank. 

While  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  defeat  took   place   on  the  Indiana 


LOCHRY'S  DISASTROUS   DEFEAT.  73 

side,  it  is  not  certainly  known  whether  it  was  in  Dearborn  or  Ohio 
County.  None  of  those  who  participated  in  the  expedition  and  wrote 
accounts  of  the  disaster,  which  have  been  preserved,  state  whether  the 
landing  was  above  or  below  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  and  on  the  question 
whether  it  was  probably  above  or  below  the  descendants  of  the  old  pio- 
neers of  this  locality  now"  differ  in  opinion.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
most  intelligent  officers  of  the  expedition,  after  witnessing  the  terrible 
butchery  of  their  companions  and  then  marched  off  prisoners  with  the 
Indians,  would  not  be  clear  in  their  recollection  on  this  point,  and  per- 
haps would  not  have  been  able  to  settle  the  question  even  by  a  visit  to 
the  scene  of  the  disaster. 

The  name  of  this  unfortunate  commander  has  been  variously  written 
Lochry,  Lochrey,  Loughry,  Loughrey  and  Laughery.  In  Dillon's 
History  of  Indiana  it  is  written  Loughry;  in  Collin's  History  of  Ken- 
tucky, Loughrey,  although  in  the  Annals  of  Kentucky,  prefixed  to  the 
latter  work,  we  have  Lochry  and  Lochi-y's  Creek.  The  people  of  Dear- 
born County  seem  to  have  early  settled  upon  Laughery  as  the  correct  spell- 
ing of  the  name  of  the  creek  which  is^now  the  boundary  of  their  county, 
and  in  McBride's  biography  of  Isaac  Anderson,  as  published  by  Kobert 
Clarke  &  Co.,  the  same  orthography  is  followed,  although  Anderson 
himself  wrote  the  name  Lochry.  The  writer  of  this  chapter  has  satis- 
fied himself,  after  full  investigation,  that  Lochry  is  the  correct  way  of 
spelling  the  name  of  the  Colonel,  as  will  be  seen  in  his  published  letters 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Archives  of  the  period  of  1781.  Upon  this  point 
the  writer  addressed  a  note  to  Lyman  C.  Draper,  the  historian,  who  has 
in  preparation  a  full  history  of  the  campaigns  of  Gen.  George  Rogers 
Clark.  He  says  that  Lochry  is  the  correct  spelling,  and  that  he  has 
among  the  papers  of  Gen.  Clark  a  letter  of  Lochry's,  a  mere  formal, 
brief,  business  letter,  and  Lochry  is  the  way  he  signed  his  name.  It  is 
to  be  earnestly  hoped  that  the  people  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties 
may  yet  be  induced  to  write  Lochry's  Creek  and  Lochry's  Island. 

Return  of  the  men  killed  and  taken  August  24,  1781,  upon  the  Ohio 
River  under  the  command  of  Col.  Lochry. 

Killed:  Col.  Lochry,  Capt.  Campbell,  Ensigns  Ralph,  Maxwell  and 
Cahel. 

Prisoners:  Maj.  Creacroft,  Adjt.  Guthree,  Quartermaster  Wallace, 
Capts.  Thomas  Stokely,  Samuel  Shannon  and  Robert  Orr;  Lieuts. 
Isaac  Anderson,  Joseph  Robinson,  Samuel  Craig,  John  Scott,  Milr 
Baker;  Ensign  Hunter. 

Privates  killed  and  taken  prisoners  in  Capt.  Stokely's  company: 

Killed:  Hugh  Gallagher,  Isaac  Patton,  Douglass,  Pheasant,  Young, 
Gibson,  Smith,  Stratton,  Bailv  and  John  Burns. 


Y4  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Prisoners:  Jolin  Trimble,  William  Mars,  John  Seace,  Michael 
Miller,  Robert  Watson,  John  Allenton,  Richard  Fleman,  James  Cain, 
Patrick  Murphy,  Abraham  Anderson,  Michael  Haire. 

Capt.  Campbell's  company: 

Killed:     William  Allison.  James  McRight,  Jonathan  McKinley. 
Prisoners:     William  Husk,  Robert  Wilson,  James  Dunseth,  William 
(^ZM  Weatherington,  Keany  Quigley,  Ezekiel  Lewis. 

Capt.  Orr's  company:  -7^ 

Killed:     John  Forsyth,  William  Cain,  Adam  Erwin,    Peter  Maclin,  ^~ 

Archibald  Erskin,  John  Black,  John  Stewart,  Joseph  Crawford. 

Prisoners:  Adam  Owry,  Samuel  Lefaver,  John  Hunter,  Joseph 
Erwin,  Mans  Kite,  Hugh  Steer,  Hugh  Moore. 

Capt.  Shannon's  company: 

Killed:     Ebenezer  Burns,  killed  by  accident. 

Prisoners:  Solomon  Aikens,  John  Lever,  Jonas  Fisher,  George 
Hill,  John  Porter,  John  Smith. 

Lieut.  Baker's  company: 

Killed:  D'AUinger,  George  Butcher,  John  Rowe,  Peter  Brickman, 
Jonas  Peters,  Jonas  Brooks.^  ^ ;  .  .r~  ,'  .-., 

Prisoners:  John  Catt,  '"^Lawrence,  Jacob  Lawrence,  Christopher 
Tait,  Charles  Martlin,  William  Rourk,  Wnd.  Franks,  Abraham  Righley, 
V  George  Mason. 

Lieut.  Anderson's  company: 

Killed:  Samuel  Evans,  Sergt.  Zeanz  Harden,  Matthew  Lamb,  John 
Milegan,  John  Corn. 

Prisoners:  Norman  McLeod,  Sergt.  James  McFerson,  William 
Marshall,  Denis  McCarty,  Peter  Coneley,  John  Ferrel. 

Taken  prisoners  in  Maj.  Creacroft's  company: 

Thomas  James,  Thomas  Adkson,  John  Stakehouse,  William  Clark, 
Elihu  Risely,  Alexander  Burns. 

Forty-eight  privates  and  twelve  officers  taken;  five  officers  and  thirty- 
six  privates  killed. 


FORT  FINNEY.  75 


CHAPTER  II. 

FORT    FINNEY. 

Congress  Proposes  a  Treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Vincennes— Place 
Changed  to  the  Mouth  of  the  Great  Miami— Arrival  of  the  Com- 
missioners—Building THE  Port— Isaac  Zane— Hunting  Buffalo- 
Indians  Arrive  Slowly— Wyandot  Camp— Shawnees  Unfavorably 
Disposed— Coolness  of  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark— The  Treaty. 

/;■  /''>^ 

FORT  FINNEY  was  erected  in  the  autumn  of  1875  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  United  States  commissioners  and  troops  during  the 
negotiations  with  the  Indians  preliminary  to  the  treaty  there  entered 
into  January  31,  1786.  The  fort  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami. 

Congress  resolved  in  March,  1785,  to  hold  a  treaty  with  the  Indians 
of  the  Wabash  and  other  parts  of  Indiana  at  Vincennes,  June  20, 
1785.  The  place  of  meeting  was  afterward  changed  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Miami.  The  representatives  of  the  United  States  were  George 
Rogers  Clark,  Richard  Butler  and  Samael  H.  Parsons.  Various  circum- 
stances caused  the  time  of  the  negotiations  to  be  changed  to  the  winter 
of  1785-86.  The  Wabash  Indians  refused  to  attend  on  account  of  a 
growing  spirit  of  hostility.  Some  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Shawnees 
and  a  few  Delawares  and  Wyandots  finally  met  the^commissioners. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  movements  of  the  commissioners  and  the 
troops  accompanying  them,  the  erection  of  the  fort  and  the  slow  assem- 
bling of  the  Indians  is  given  in  the  journal  of  Maj.  Ebenezer  Danny, 
published  in  1860  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  In  October, 
1785,  Lieut.  Denny  was  ordered'  to  embark  for  the  Great  Miami  in 
company  with  Gens.  Butler  and  Parsons,  commissioners  instructed  to 
treat  with  the  Wyandot,  Delaware  and  Shawnee  Indians.  The  treaty 
contemplated  was  saplementary  to  one  made  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1785,  concerning  which  there  had  been  complaints  among  the 
Indians,  and  was  principally  intended  to  include  the  Shawnees  who  had 
failed  to  appear  at  Fort  Mcintosh.  The  company  to  which  Lieut.  Denny 
was  attached  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Finney,  and  contained  about 
seventy  men. 

The  fleet  bearing  the  commissioners  and  troops  left  Fort  Pitt  early  in 
October,  and  consisted  of  twelve  small  keel-boats  and  batteaux,  bearing 


76  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

the  troops  and  goods  for  the  ladiaos,  with  two  large  Kentucky  flats  to 
carry  horses,  cattle,  etc.  The  arrival  at  North  Bend  and  the  erection  of 
Fort  Finney  are_,given  in  the  following  extract. 

32:1  [Oct.]— Arrive  at  mouth  of  Great  Miami.  Best  ground  for  our  station 
about  a  mile  above  the  mouth,  where  the  boats  were  brought,  and  everything  un- 
loaded. All  hands  set  to  work  chopping,  clearing,  etc.,  and  preparing  timber  for 
block-houses  and  pickets,  and  on  the  8th  inst.  [November]  had  ourselves  inclosed; 
hoisted  the  United  Stales  flag,  and  christened  the  place  Fort  Finney,  in  compliment 
to  Lieut.  Finney,  the  commanding  officer.  Our  work  is  a  square  stockade  fort,  sub- 
stantial block-houses,  two  stories,  twenty  four  by  eighteen  feet  in  each  angle,  con- 
tains one  hundred  feet  of  stout  pickets,  four  feet  in  tlie  ground,  and  nine  feet  above, 
situated  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  river  on  a  rising  second  bank.  A 
building  eighteen  by  twenty  feet,  within  the  east  and  west  curtains,  for  the  accom- 
modation and  reception  of  contractors'  stores  and  Indian  goods;  and  one  small  but 
strong  building,  center  of  north  curtain,  for  magazine.  A  councilrhouse,  twenty  by 
sixty,  detached,  but  within  gun-shot.  Commissioners  and  their  followers  pitch  their 
tents  within  the  fort,  and  erect  wooden  chimneys. 

The  .season  was  very  favorable  but  cool,  and  the  men  were  employed  for  some 
time  finishing  the  block-houses  and  clearing  off  the  timber  and  brush  for  some  dis- 
tance outside.  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  came  up  from  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  (Louis- 
ville) and  joined  the  other  commissioners  a  few  days  later.  On  the  34th  of  Novem- 
ber Maj.  Denny  notes  the  arrival  of  messengers,  who  set  out  from  Pittsburgh  to  the 
Indian  town  to  invite  the  Indians  to  a  treaty  at  Fort  Finney,  accompanied  by  six 
chiefs  of  the  Shawnees,  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations,  namely:  Captain  Johnny, 
or  Red  Pole,  Half  King,  Crane,  Pipe,  Wingman  and  White-Eyes— "all  glad  to  see 
us,  brothers;  some  grog  and  smoke  produced."  On  the  37th  "about  one  hundred 
Indians  assemble  and  are  camped  a  couple  of  miles  from  U3;  the  greatest  part  Wy- 
andots;  afewDelawares."  On  the  5th  of  December  Maj.  Denny  makes  entry;  Gens. 
Clark,  Butler  and  Parsons']  leave  us  on  a  visit  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  below.  Capt.  Finney  and  myself,  with  a  party  of  soldiers 
in  boats,  go  to  Big  Bone  Liclv,  thirty  miles  down;  dig  up  and  collect  some  astonish- 
ing large  bones. 

Danny  was  occasionally  in  company  with  Isaac  Zane,  a  man  who  had 
been  brought  up  among  the  Wyandots.  On  the  12th  of  December, 
Denny,  Zane  and  two  Indians  went  up  the  river  seven  miles  to  hunt 
buffalo.  The  Jouraal  records  that  the  bunting  party  returned  on  the 
fourth  day  and  brought  the'meat  of  three  buffalos,  two  bears  and  parts 
of  a  number  of  deer.  Oa  the  20th  of  December  the  commissioners  re- 
turned from  the  falls,  disappointed  at  not  finding  more  Indians  assembled. 
Those  who  had  come  in  were  principally  Wyandots  and  Delawares,  with 
whom  the  treaty  at  Fort  Mcintosh  was  made.  The  Shawnees  were  the 
ones  for  whom  the  proposed  treaty  was  intended,  but  they  hung  back.  It 
has  since  been  developed  that  the  notorious  Simon  Girty  and  Robert 
Suphlet,  a  cousin  of  the  British  agent,  Alex  McKee,  were  with  the 
Shawnees,  endeavoring  to  prevent  their  attendance  at  the  treaty. 

At  length,  January  14,  1786,  about  150  Shawnee  men  and  eighty 
women  visited  the  fort  and  were  received  with  high  honors.     The   com- 


FORT  FINNEY. 


77 


missioaers  directt^d  that  a  party  of  soldiers  should  cook  and  serve  out 
provisions  for  them  in  the  council-house.  As  the  Shawnees  selected  al- 
ways their  old  and  decrepid  women  to  do  the  cooking,  when  they  saw 
United  States'  soldiers  carrying  kettles  of  provisions  to  them  they  laughed 
and  shouted  at  them  in  derision.  They  approached  the  fort  in  a  stately 
manner  with  Indian  music  beat  on  a  keg  drum  and  singing.  During  the 
negotiations  the  Wyandot  camp  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Great  Miami, 
about  three  miles  north  of  Fort  Finney. 

Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  understood  the  Indian  character  thoroughly. 
He  was  a  short,  stout,  square  man  with  a  high  forehead,  sandy 
hair,  blue  eyes  and  heavy,  shaggy  eyebrows.  He  kept  aloof  from  his 
colleagues  of  the  commission,  and  there  seems  to  have  been  some  jealousy 
between  them.  With  Lieut.  Denny  he  was  on  familiar  terms  and  in- 
vited him  to  pass  his  evenings  with  him  at  his  tent,  where  he  talked 
freely  about  his  adventures  and  victories. 

The  Shawnees  came  to  the  fort  in  no  friendly  spirit,  and  but  for  the 
profound  knowledge  possessed  by  Gen.  Clark  of  their  character,  one 
conference  might  have  resulted  in  the  murder  of  the  commissioners. 
Three  hundred  of  their  warriors,  with  their  paint  and  feathers,  Janu- 
ary 14,  filed  into  the  council-house.  Their  demeanor  was  sullen  and 
suspicious.  The  commissioners  sat  at  a  table  in  the  center  of  the  cham- 
ber. The  scene  is  thus  described  in  the  "Encyclopedia  Americana,"  by 
an  officer  who  was  present: 

"On  the  part  of  the  Indians,  an  old  council  sachem,  and  a  war  chief 
took  the  lead.  The  latter,  a  tall,  raw-boned  fellow  with  an  impudent  and 
villainous  look,  made  a  boisterous  and  threatening  speech,  which  oper- 
ated effectually  on  the  passions  of  the  Indians,  who  set  up  a  prodigious 
whoop  at  every  pause.  He  concluded  by  presenting  a  black  and  a  white 
wampum,  to  signify  that  they  were  prepared  for  either  event,  peace  or 
war.  Clark  exhibited  the  same  unaltered  and  careless  countenance  he 
had  shown  during  the  whole  scene,  his  head  leaning  on  his  hand  and  his 
elbow  resting  on  the  table.  He  raised  his  little  cane  and  pushed  the 
sacred  wampum  off  the  table  with  little  ceremony.  Every  Indian  at  the 
same  time  started  from  his  seat  with  one  of  those  sudden,  simultaneous 
and  peculiar  savage  sounds,  which  startle  and  disconcert  the  stoutest 
heart  and  can  neither  be  described  nor  forgotten. 

"At  this  juncture  Clark  arose.  The  scrutinizing  eye  lowered  at  his 
glance.  He  stamped  his  foot  on  the  prostrate  and  insulted  symbol  and 
ordered  them  to  leave  the  hall.  They  did  so,  apparently  involuntarily. 
They  were  heard  all  night  debating  in  ^the  bushes  near  the  fort.  The 
raw-boned  chief  was  for  war;  the  old  sachem  for  peace.  The  latter  pre- 
vailed and  the  next  morning  they  came  back  and  sued  for  peace." 


78  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

The  troops  remained  at  Fort  Finney  for  several  months  after  the 
signing  of  the]  treaty  on  January  31.  A  majority  of  the  men  in  the 
garrison  were  Irish,  and  celebrated  St.  Patrick's  day  by  getting  drunk, 
in  the  evening  only  six  men  being  fit  for  duty.  One  of  the  men  died  the 
next  day  from  the  effects  of  too  much  liquor.  On  the  25th  of  March  a 
block-house,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  was  completed  to  guard  the  boats. 
The  4th  of  July  was  celebrated  with  three  rounds  from  small  arms  and 
three  from  the  field  piece.  Lieut.  Denny's  diary  at  the  fort  closes  in 
July,  1786,  when  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Harm ar.  At  what  time  Fort 
Finney  was  abandoned  is  not  known,  but  it  was  before  the  settlement  at 
North  Bend  by  Judge  Symmes. 

By  the  treaty  of  Fort  Finney  the  United  States  were  acknowledged  to 
be  the  sole  and  absolute  sovereigns  of  all  the  territory  ceded  to  them  by 
the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in  1784.  Hunting  grounds,  lying  chiefly 
in  Indiana,  were  allotted  the  Shawnees  as  follows: 

"The  United  States  do  allot  to  the  Shawnee  nation  lands  within  said 
territory  to  live  and  hunt  upon,  beginning  at  the  south  line  of  the  lands 
allotted  to  the  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations,  at  the  place  where  the 
main  branch  of  the  Great  Miami,  which  falls  into  the  Ohio,  intersects 
said  line;  thence  down  the  river  Miami  to  the  fort  of  that  river  next  below 
the  [old  fort,  which  was  taken  by  the  French  in  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  fifty-two;  thence  due  west  to  the  river  De  La  Pause;  thence 
down  that  river  to  the  river  Wabash;  beyond  which  lines  none  of  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  shall  settle,-  nor  disturb  the  Shawnees  in 
their  settlement  possession." 

The  treaty  failed  entirely  in  securing  peace,  as  the  tribes  more  distant 
than  the  Shawnees  were  in  no  way  disposed  to  cease  their  incursions. 


THE  MIAMI  PURCHASE.  79 


/t, 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  MIAMI  PURCHASE. 

First  Exploration  of  the  Miami  Country— Christopher  Gist— Benja- 
min Stites— John  Cleves  Symmes— Columbia— Cincinnati — North 
Bend— Troops  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Great  Miami— Their  Kemoval 
TO  Cincinnati— Flat-Bottomed  Water  Craft— Judge  Symmes's 
Policy  with  the  Indians— Failure  of  his  Efforts  to  Maintain 
Peace— The  Indian  War  Begins. 

A  NUMBER  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties 
first  settled,  after  their  immigration  to  the  West,  in  the  tract  be- 
t^een  the  Miami  Rivers,  known  as  Symmes's  Purchase,  or  the  Miami 
Purchase.  This  tract  was  settled  several  years  before  any  of  the  lands 
below  the  Great  Miami.  Some  account  of  the  Miami  Purchase  is 
necessary  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  history  of  the  counties  with 
which  we  are  dealing. 

The  first  white  man  on  record  who  explored  the  Miami  region,  and 
probably  passed  within  or  near  the  present  limits  of  Dearborn  County, 
was  Christopher  Gist,  agent  and  explorer  for  the  Ohio  Land  Company  of 
Virginia.  Traveling  with  horses  and  accompanied  by  one  or  two  wood- 
'nen,  Gist  passed  into  the  interior  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  in 
the  winter  of  1750-51.  He  had  a  conference  with  the  Miami  Indians  at 
Piqua,  their  chief  town,  and  thence  passed  down  the  Mijuni  Valley  to  the 
Ohio.  At  that  time  the  buffalo,  whose  original  range  seems  to  have  been 
nearly  the  whole  of  North  America,  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  Miami 
country,  and  was  seen  by  Gist  in  droves  of  thirty  or  forty.  "Nothing  is 
wanted,"  he  wrote,  "but  cultivation  to  make  this  a  moa^^ delightful  coun- 
try." This  journey  was  made  eighteen  years  before^aniel  Boone  first 
saw  the  valley  of  the  Kentucky. 

Not  long  after  the  treaty  of  Fort  Finney,  Maj.  Benjamin  Stites,  then 
of  Red  Stone,  Penn. ,  explored  the  region  between  the  Miamis,  and 
through  infonination  obtained  from  him  Judge  John  Cleves  Symmes,  of 
New  Jersey,  made  a  contract  with  the  treasury  board  of  the  United  States 
for  the  purchase  of  the  lands. 

Three  parties  were  formed  to  occupy  and  improve  separate  portions 
of  Symmes's  Purchase.  The  first,  led  by  Benjamin  Stites,  consisted  of 
twenty-two    male  persons,    with   the  families    of  some  of  them,    who, 


80  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

November  18,  1788,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  and 
founded  Columbia,  within  the  limits  of  a  tract  of  10,000  acres,  deeded  by 
Symmes  to  Stites.  The  second  party  was  formed  at  Limestone  under 
Matthias  Denman  and  Robert  Patterson,  amounting  to  twelve  or  fifteen 
persons,  and  landed  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  near  the  close  of 
December,  1788,  and  founded  Cincinnati,  first  called  Losanteville.  The 
third  party  was  under  the  immediate  direction  and  care  of  Judge  Symmes, 
and  left  Limestone  January  29,  1789,  and  on  their  passage  down  the 
river  were  delayed  and  obstructed  by  floating  ice,  which  covered  the 
river.  Early  in  February  they  reached  North  Bend,  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Miami,  where  the  Judge  proposed  to  found  a  city.  North 
Bend  received  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  most  northern  bend 
of  the  Ohio  below  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha. 

Judge  Symmes  laid  out  a  village  at  this  bend,  and  every  individ- 
ual settler  of  the  party  accompanying  him  received  a  donation  lot,  which 
he  was  required  to  improve  on  condition  of  obtaining  a  title.  At  Cleves, 
Ohio,  the  Great  Miami  approaches  within  a  mile  of  the  Ohio  River,  but 
instead  of  flowing  into  the  great  stream  at  this  place,  it  makes  an  abrupt 
detour  to  the  west  and  south,  and  only  reaches  its  destination  after  a  cir- 
cuit of  ten  miles.  Its  approach  to  the  Ohio  is  blocked  by  a  ridge  150 
feet  in  height,  through  which  a  railroad  tunnel  is  constructed.  On  the 
peninsula  between  the  two  rivers  Judge  Symmes  laid  out  a  city  on  a  mag- 
nificent scale,  extending  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Great  Miami.  He  named 
it  Symmes  City,  and  he  intended  it  to  be  the  great  metropolis  of  his  pur- 
chase. His  project,  however,  failed,  and  even  the  name  of  the  projected 
city  was  forgotten.     The  settlement  continued  to  be  called  North    Bend. 

After  returning  from  his  purchase, the  Judge  was  so  highly  delighted 
with  the  fertility  of  his  lands  that,  on  September  22,  1789,  he  wrote 
from  Maysville  to  his  associate,  Gen.  Jonathan  Dayton,  that  he  thought 
some  of  the  land  near  the  Great  Miami  "positively  worth  a  silver  dollar 
to  the  acre  in  its  present  state." 

Gen.  Harmar,  in  a  letter  from  Fort  Washington,  dated  January  14, 
1790,  one  year  after  the  commencement  of  the  settlements  between  the 
Mi  amis,  thus  describes  them:  "The  distance  between  the  Little  and 
Great  Miami  is  twenty-eight  measured^  miles.  Near  the  Little  Miami 
there  is  a  settlement  called  Columbia;  here,  some  miles  distant  from 
Columbia,  there  is  another  named  Losanteville,  but  changed  lately  to 
Cincinnati,  and  Judge  Symmes  himself  resides  at  the  other,  about 
fifteen  miles  from  hence,  called  the  Miami  City,  at  the  north  bend  of  the 
Ohio  River.  They  are  in  general  but  small  cabins,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  poorer  class  of  people." 

At  the  solicitation  of  Judge  Symmes,  Gen.  Harmar  sent  Capt,  Kearsey 


THE  MIAMI  PURCHASE.  81 

with  forty-eight  rank  and  file,  to  protect  the  settlements  commenced  in 
the  Miami  country.  A  part  of  the  men  were  for  a  short  time  at  Columbia, 
aa  a  guard  to  the  pioneers,  under  Maj.  Stites,  but  through  the  influence 
of  Judge  Symmes,  the  entire  command  proceeded  to  North  Bend,  and 
landed  there  about  the  1st  of  February,  1789.  Capt.Kearsey  intended  to 
occupy  Fort  Finuey,  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  three  years  be- 
fore, but  this  purpose  was  defeated  by  the  high  water,  which  spread  over  the 
high  grounds,  and  rendered  it  difficult  to  reach  the  fort.  He  was  much 
disappointed,  as  he  expected  to  find  a  fort  ready  built  for  him,  and  was  not 
provided  with  the  implements  ready  to  construct  one.  He  was  so  much 
displeased  that,  according  to  Judge  Burnet,  he  resolved  not  to  attempt  to 
construct  a  new  fort,  but  to  leave  North  Bend  and  join  the  garrison  at 
Louisville,  and  early  in  March  embarked  for  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  with 
his  command. 

Judge  Symmes  wrote  to  Maj.  Willis,  commandant  of  the  garrison  at 
Louisville,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  Capt.  Kearsey,  representing 
the  exposed  situation  of  the  Miami  settlements,  and  requesting  a  guard 
to  be  sent  to  North  Bend.  This  request  was  promptly  complied  with, 
and  before  the  close  of  the  month  of  March,  Ensign  Luce,  with  seven- 
teen or  eighteen  soldiers,  arrived  and  were  stationed  for  a  time  at  the  Bend. 
It  was  not  long  before  an  attack  upon  them  was  made  by  the  Indians,^ 
in  which  one  soldier  was  killed  and  four  or  five  others  were  wounded, 
including  a  surveyor  from  New  Jersey,  Maj.  J.  E.  Mills.  Although  he 
recovered  from  his  wounds,  he  felt  their  disabling  effects  until  his  death. 

The  presence  of  troops  for  a  while  gave  North  Bend  a  decided  advan- 
tage over  its  two  rival  settlements.  Many  of  the  first  adventurers 
planted  themselves  at  the  Bend,  believing  it  to  be  the  place  of  greatest 
safety.  Ensign  Luce,  however, only  erected  a  temporary  work  of  defense 
at  that  place,  regardless  of  the  earnest  entreaties  of  the  Judge  to  proceed 
at  once  to  the  erection  of  a  permanent  fort.  September  16;  1789,  Maj. 
Doughty  arrived  in  the  Miami  country  with  instructions  to  erect  a  strong 
fortification  at  the  most  suitable  point.  After  reconnoitering  three  days, 
he  fixed  upon  Cincinnati  "as  high  and  healthy,  and  abounding  with 
never-failing  springs,  and  the  most  proper  position."  The  soldiers  were 
removed  from  the  Bend  to  Cincinnati,  and  many  of  the  settlers  followed. 
The  latter  place  became  the  great  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Miami 
country. 

The  fiat  bottomed  water-craft  called  arks  or  Kentucky  boats,  in 
which  the  early  emigrants  descended  the  Ohio,  were  often  immense 
structures  and  made  in  a  most  substantial  manner.  These  boats  were 
built  of  stout  oak  plank,  fastened  by  wooden  pins  to  frames  of  timber. 
The  cabin  was   well  protected  and  placed  in  the  stern.     From   it  the 


82  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

/ 
smoke  curled  up  gracefully.  The  fire  within  gave  warmth  and  comfort 
for  the  women  and  children  when  the  wind  was  chill  or  the  rain  was 
falling.  When  the  weather  was  pleasant,  picturesque  groups  of  men, 
women  and  children  could  be  seen  in  the  middle  part  of  the  boat,  noise- 
lessly floating  along — the  only  motive  power  the  current  of  the  stream. 
The  cattle,  provisions  and  furniture  were  placed  in  the  bows.  Had  it 
not  been  for  the  dangers  from  murderous  savages  lurking  along  the 
shore  it  was  a  pleasant  enough  mode  of  traveling.  When  the  boat 
reached  its  destination  it  was  broken  up,  and  the  materials  of  which  it 
was  constructed  served  a  useful  purpose  in  building  the  new  homes  of 
the  emigrants. 

Judge  Symmes,  the  projector  of  the  Miami  Purchase,  had  his  resi- 
dence at  North  Bend  until  his  death. "  His  tomb  is  about  thirty  rods 
west  from  that  of  Gen.  Harrison.  On  a  tablet  covering  his  grave  is  the 
following  inscription:  "Here  rest  the  remains  of  John  Cleves  Symmes, 
who,  at  the  foot  of  these  hills,  made  the  first  settlement  between  the 
Miami  Elvers.  Born  on  Long  Island,  State  of  New  York,  July  21, 
1742;  died  at  Cincinnati,  February  26,  A.  D.,  1814."  Judge  Symmes 
had  been  chief  justice  of  New  Jersey,  and  at  the  time  he  embarked  in 
his  land  speculation  in  the  West,  was  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Con- 
gress. He  was  the  father-in-law  of  President  Harrison.  The  name  of 
Judge  Symmes  should  not  be  confounded  with  that  of  Capt.  John 
Cleves  Symmes,  of  Hamilton,  Ohio,  author  of  the  theory  that  "the  earth 
is  hollow,  habitable  within  and  widely  open  about  the  poles."  The 
author  of  this  theory  which  has  been  ridicaled  in  the  expression 
"Symmes'  Hole,"  was  a  nephew  of  the  land  speculatoi*.  Although 
Judge  Symmes  contracted  with  Congress  to  pay  only  66|  cents  per  acre 
for  the  land  between  the  Miami  Rivers,  and  his  purchase  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  and  fertile  tracts  in  the  United  States,  yet  he  was  not 
financially  successful  in  his  project.  Indian  hostilities  so  long  delayed 
the  settlement  of  his  purchase  that  he  was  unable  to  meet  his  obligations 
to  the  Government.  ^ 

Judge  Symmes  proposed  to  treat  the  Indians  kindly  and  justly,  and 
thus  to  prevent  an  outbreak  between  them  and  his  settlements.  There 
were  no  Indian  towns  in  the  lower  part  of  the  country  between  the 
Miamis  or  on  the  west  side  of  the  Great  Miami  in  the  region  now  in- 
cluded in  Dearborn,  Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties.  This  is  contrary 
to  the  general  impression,  but  Gen.  Harrison,  who  came  to  the  Miami 
country  when  a  mere  boy,  and  was  familiar  with  Indian  history  and  tradi- 
tions, was  emphatic  in  denying  that  this  portion  of  the  Ohio  Valley  had 
been  occupied  as  a  place  of  residence  by  the  Indians  for  centuries  before 
the  first  arrival  of  the  whites.     But  while  there  were  no  Indian  towns 


THE  MIAMI  PURCHASE.  88 

in  this  region,  the  red  men  claimed  thecountry  as  their  hunting  ground, 
and  were  frequently  found  encamped  in  the  valleys  in  considerable 
numbers. 

As  the  number  of  white  emigrants  increased,  the  Indians  con- 
templated the  movements  of  the  whites  with  much  jealousy.  They 
denied  the  binding  obligation  of  the  treaty  under  which  the  United 
States  claimed  to  have  obtained  the  lands.  They  not  only  saw  that  the 
rapidly  forming  settlements  would  deprive  them  of  their  hunting 
grounds,  but  they  also  suffered  many  outrages  from  lawless  and  cruel 
white  men  who  were  controlled  by  no  sense  of  justice  or  humanity. 

In  one  of  his  earliest  exploring  expeditions  up  the  Great  Miami, 
Judge  Symmes,  who  was  in  company  with  a  considerable  body  of  Ken- 
tuckians,  came  across  a  small  and  defenseless  body  of  Indians.  The 
Kentuckians,  incensed  at  depredations  by  savage  hordes,  in  their  State,  and 
hating  even  the  name  of  Indian,  wished  to  shoot  them  at  sight.  Symmes 
interposed  for  their  protection,  which  proceeding,  he  says,  the  Kentuck- 
ians thought  unpardonable. 

Not  long  after/the  commencement  of  the  settlement  at  North  Bend, 
as  Judge  Burnet  relates,  Symmes  was  visited  by  a  number  of  Indians 
from  a  camp  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Columbia  settlement.  One  of 
them,  a  Shawnee  chief,  had  many  complaints  to  make  of  frauds  practiced 
upon  them  by  white  traders,  who,  however,  had  no  connection  with  the 
pioneers.  After  several  conversations  and  some  small  presents,  he  pro- 
fessed to  be  satisfied  with  the  explanation  he  had  received,  and  gave 
assurances  that  the  Indians  would  trade  with  the  white  men  as  friends. 

In  one  of  their  interviews  the  Judge  told  him  he  had  been  com- 
missioned and  sent  out  by  the  thirteen  fires  in  the  spirit  of  friendship 
and  kindness,  and  that  he  was  instructed  to  treat  them  as  friends  and 
brothers.  In  proof  of  this,  he  showed  them  the  flag  of  the  Union,  with 
its  stars  and  stripes,  and  also  his  commission,  having  the  great  seal  of  the 
United  States  attached  to  it;  exhibiting  the  American  eagle,  with  olive 
branch  in  one  claw,  emblematic  of  peace,  and  the  instrument  of  war  and 
death  in  the  other.  He  explained  the  meaning  of  these  symbols.  At 
first  the  chief  did  not  think  them  very  striking  emblems  either  of  peace 
or  war,  but  before  he  departed  from  the  Bend  he  gave  assurances  of  the 
most  friendly  character. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  when  the  Indians  left  the  settlements  for 
their  own  towns  they  stole,  as  the  whites  would  say,  but  as  they  said, 
took,  a  number  of  horses  from  the  Columbia  settlement  in  compensation 
for  the  injuries  they  had  received  from  the  white  traders.  These  thefts 
were  repeated  and  a  party  of  whites  was  sent  out  in  pursuit.  As  they 
approached  the  Indian  camp,  Capt.  Flinn   was  sent  forward  cautiously 


84  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


to  reconnoiter.  He  was  surprised,  taken  captive  and  carried  into  the 
Indian  camp.  Not  being  very  closely  watched,  and  having  great  confi- 
dence in  his  activity  and  fleetness,  at  a  favorable  moment  he  sprang  from 
the  camp  and  made  his  way  in  safety  to  his  friends.  There  were  a  num- 
ber of  horses  belonging  to  the  Indians  near  their  camp.  Not  finding 
their  own,  the  whites  took  the  Indians'  horses  and  returned  to  their  set- 
tlement. In  a  few  days  the  Indians  came  back  to  Columbia,  returned 
Capt.  Flinn's  rifle  and  complained  of  the  loss  of  their  horses.  The 
matter  was  finally  amicably  arranged. 

Notwithstanding  the  peaceful  policy  of  Judge  Symmes,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  Before  many  months  elapsed 
two  boys  at  Columbia  were  shockingly  murdered,  and  the  head  of  one  of 
them  was  found  fixed  on  a  pole.  Doubtless,  in  some  cases,  lone  Indians 
were  shot  down  in  the  woods  by  roving  bands  of  worthless  white  men. 
The  long  war,  which  continued  for  nearly  seven  years,  was  commenced. 
All  peaceful  intercommunication  between  the  white  and  red  men  ceased. 
Orders  were  given  that  every  white  man  enrolled  in  the  militia  should 
carry  his  gun  and  be  equipped  ready  for  fight  at  all  gatherings,  whether 
on  Sunday  or  other  days.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  a  dark  cloud  early 
hovered  over  the  new  settlements  between  the  Miamis,  and  eclipsed  for 
a  time  the  bright  hopes  indulged  in  at  the  commencement  of  Judge 
Symmes' s  enterprise. 

The  Indian  war  was  a  most  unfortunate  one  for  the  Miami  settle- 
ment. Many  persons  bought  lands  from  Judge  Symmes,  immigrated  to 
the  Miami  country,  but  could  not  live  upon  their  lands  for  fear  of  the 
Indians.  Many  of  the  pioneers,  who  afterward  settled  on  both  sides  of 
the  Great  Miami,  were  for  years  compelled  to  remain  within  the  protec- 
tion of  block- houses  and  forts.  Dr.  Ezra  Ferris  estimated  the  number  of 
male  persons  capable  of  bearing  arms  at  the  principal  settlements  in 
1791  as  follows:  Columbia,  150;  Cincinnati,  100;  North  Bend,  80; 
Dunlap's  Station,  15;  Cavalt's  Station,  20. 

The  unhappy  condition  of  many  of  these  adventurers  who  were 
prevented  from  occupying  their  lands,  and  the  methods  adopted  of 
building  stations  of  defense,  are  described  by  Judge  Burnet  in  the 
following  extract  from  his  notes: 

"  A  large  number  of  the  original  adventurers  to  the  Miami  Purchase 
had  exhausted  their  means  by  paying  for  their  land  and  removing  their 
families  to  the  country.  Others  were  wholly  destitute  of  pi'operty,  and 
came  out  as  volunteers,  under  the  expectation  of  obtaining,  gratuitously, 
such  small  tracts  of  land  as  might  be  forfeited  by  the  purchasers,  under 
Judge  Symmes,  for  not  making  the  improvements  required  by  the 
conditions  stipulated  in  the  terms  of  sale  and  settlement  of  Miami  lands, 


THE  MIAMI  PURCHASE.  85 

published  by  the  Judge  in  1787.  The  class  of  adventurers  first  named 
was  comparatively  numerous,  and  had  come  out  under  an  expectation  of 
taking  immediate  possession  of  their  lands,  and  of  commencing  the  cul- 
tivation of  them  for  subsistence.  Their  situation,  therefore,  was  distress- 
ing. To  go  out  into  the  wilderness  to  till  the  soil  appeared  to  be  certain 
death;  to  remain  in  the_j  settlements  threatened  them  with  starvation. 
The  best  provided  of  the  pioneers  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  subsistence, 
and,  of  course,  the  class  now  spoken  of  were  not  far  from  total  destitu- 
tion. They  depended  on  game,  fish,  and  such  products  of  the  earth  as 
could  be  raised  on  small  patches  of  ground  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  settlements. 

"  Occasionally,  small  lots  of  provisions  were  brought  down  the  river 
by  emigrants,  and  sometimes  were  transported  on  pack-horses  from 
Lexington,  at  heavy  expense,  and  not  without  danger.  But  supplies 
thus  procured  were  beyond  the  reach  of  those  destitute  persons  now 
referred  to. 

"  Having  endured  these  privations  as  long  as  they  could  be  borne,  the 
more  resolute  of  them  determined  to  brave  the  consequences  of  moving 
on  to  their  lands.  To  accomplish  the  object  with  the  least  exposure, 
those  whose  lands  were  in  the  same  neighborhood  united  as  one  family; 
and,  on  that  principle,  a  number  of  associations  were  formed  amounting 
to  a  dozen  or  more,  who  went  out  resolved  to  maintain'  their 
positions. 

"  Each  party  erected  a  strong  block-house,  near  to  which  their  cabins 
were  put  up,  and  the  whole  was  enclosed  by  strong  log  pickets.  This  being 
done,  they  commenced  clearing  their  lands  and  preparing  for  planting 
their  crops.  During  the  day,  while  they  were  at  work,  one  person  was 
placed  as  a  sentinel  to  warn  them  of  approaching  danger.  At  sunset 
they  retired  to  the  block-house  and  their  cabins,  taking  everything  of 
value  within  the  pickets.  In  this  manner  they  proceeded  from  day  to 
day  and  week  to  week,  till  their  improvements  were  sufficiently  extensive 
to  support  their  families.  During  this  time  they  depended  for  subsis- 
tence on  wild  game,  obtained  at  some  hazard,  more  than  on  the  scanty 
supplies  they  were  able  to  procure  from  the  settlements  on  the  river. 

"  In  a  short  time,  the  stations  gave  protection  and  food  to  a  large 
number  of  destitute  families.  After  they  were  established  the  Indians 
became  less  annoying  to  the  settlements  on  the  Ohio,  as  part  of  their 
time  was  employed  in  watching  the  stations.  The  former,  however,  did 
not  escape,  bat  endured  their  share  of  the  fruits  of  savage  hostility.  In 
fact  no  place  or  situation  was  exempt  from  danger.  The  safety  of  the 
pioneer  depended  on  his  means  of  defense,  and  on  perpetual 
vigilance. 


86  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

"  The  Indians  viewed  those  stations  with  great  jealousy,  as  they  had 
the  appearance  of  permanent  military  establishments,  intended  to  retain 
possession  of  their  country.  In  that  view  they  were  correct;  and  it  was 
fortunate  for  the  settlers  that  the  Indians  wanted  either  the  skill  or  means 
of  demolishing  them. 

"  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  their  great  error  consisted  in  permiting 
those  works  to  be  constructed  at  all.  They  oiight  have  prevented  it  with 
great  ease,  but  they  appeared  not  to  be  aware  of  the  serious  consequences 
which  were  to  result  until  it  was  too  late  to  act  with  effect.  Several 
attacks  were,  however,  made  at  different  times,  with  an  apparent  deter- 
mination to  destroy  them;  but  they  failed  in  every  instance." 


CHAPTER  IV. 
INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS. 

Hostility  of  the  Indians  Against  thk  Settlements  in  Kentucky- 
Attacks  on  Tanner's  Station— Killing  of  John  Filson  and  Abner 
Hunt— Attack  on  Dunlap's  Station— Capture  of  Young  Fuller 
—The  Murder  of  De  Moss— Murder  of  Benjamin  Cox  and  Thomas 
Walters— Premiums  for  Indian  Scalps— Indian  Depredations 
Checked  by  Wayne's  Victory— Indians  Continue  to  Steal  Horses. 

THE  hostility  of  the  Indians  against  the  whites  was  displayed  before 
the  commencement  of  the  settlements  between  the  Miamis,  They 
intercepted  boats  passing  up  and  down  the  Ohio,  and  attempted  to  break 
up  the  white  stations  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Large  numbers  of 
the  savages  frequently  encamped  and  hunted  in  the  region  embracing 
Dearborn,  Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties,  and  passed  over  into  Ken- 
tucky for  the  purpose  of  stealing  horses  and  annoying  the  settlements  in 
that  State.  There  were  extensive  hunting  grounds  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Wabash  and  Maumee  in  the  southeast  part  of  Indiana. 

While  Fort  Finney  was  occupied,  Lieut.  Denny  recorded  in  his  jour- 
nal that  a  station,  consisting  of  a  few  families  with  a  stockade  for 
defense,  had  been  erected  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  Ohio,  about  six 
miles  below  Fort  Finney.  On  the  morning  of  March  20,  1786,  an 
express  from  the  station  informed  the  garrison  at  the  fort  that  the 
Indians  had  attacked  two  of  their  people  a  short  distance  from  the  sta- 
tion, killed  one  and  wounded  the  other.  The  wounded  person  escaped 
into  the  cabins  at  the  stockade.     Lieut.  Denny  took   a  light  boat  with  a 


INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS.  87 

sergeant  and  twelve  men,  and  hastened  to  the  station.  He  found  the 
dead  man  scalped  and  cut  in  several  places;  he  buried  him,  assisted  in 
rendering  the  stockade  more  secure  and  returned  home.  This  station 
was  probably  Tanner's,  at  what  is  now  Petersburg,  Ky. 

Four  years  later,  John  Garnet,  in  a  deposition  taken  before  a  magis- 
trate, for  the  use  of  the  Kentucky  authorities,  stated  that  he  was  at  Tan- 
ner's Station  on  the  Ohio,  about  five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Miami,  in  the  latter  part  of  April  or  the  beginning  of  May,  1790,  when 
five  Indians  placed  themselves  in  ambush  between  the  cabin  of  Mr.  Tan- 
ner and  his  field,  and  captured  his  son,  a  lad  about  nine  years  of  age, 
with  whom  they  crossed  the  Ohio.  It  appears  also  from  other  deposi- 
tions that  in  the  fall  preceding  two  men  had  been  killed  at  or  near  the 
station. 

After  the  commencement  of  the  settlements  between  the  Miamis,  a 
number  of  persons  were  killed  along  the  Great  Miami.  John  Filson, 
one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Cincianati,  having  gone  up  the  Great 
Miami,  on  an  exploring  expedition  in  company  with  Judge  Symmes, 
became  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  company,  and,  as  is  believed,  was 
killed.      The  date  of  this  event  is  given  as  October  1,  1788. 

In  January,  1791,  a  large  band  of  Indians  led,  it  was  afterward 
reported,  by  the  notorious  Simon  Girty,  were  roving  in  the  woods  west  of 
the  Great  Miami.  Abner  Hunt,  one  of  Judge  Symmes'  surveyors,  John 
S.  Wallace,  John  Sloan  and  a  Mr.  Cunningham  had  been  exploring  the 
country  west  of  the  Great  Miami,  and  on  the  morning  of  January  8, 
after  roasting  their  venison  and  taking  breakfast  at  the  camp,  set  out  on 
further  explorations.  About  100  yards  from  their  camp  they  were  beset 
by  the  savages  in  the  rear,  who  fired  a  volley  of  eight  or  ten  guns.  Cun- 
ningham was  killed  on  the  spot;  Hunt,  being  thrown  from  his  horse, 
was  made  prisoner;  Sloan,  although  shot  through  the  body,  kept  on  his 
horse  and  made  his  escape,  Hunt's  loose  horse  following  him.  Wallace 
was  on  foot  at  the  time,  and  took  to  the  woods  pursued  by  two  Indians, 
and  being  uncommonly  active  out-ran  them.  In  about  two  miles  he 
overtook  Sloan,  with  Hunt's  horse  following  him,  which  he  caught  and 
mounted.  They  made  their  way  to  Danlap's  Station  on  the  Great  Miami. 
On  the  morning  of  January  10,  Danlap's  Station  was  attacked  by  a  very 
large  body  of  Indians,  probably  numbering  400  or  500.  The  block- 
house at  that  time  was  occupied  by  a  small  detachment  oE  United  States 
troops,  of  about  eighteen  soldiers,  commanded  _^by  Lieut.  Kingsbury. 
The  Indians  compelled  Abner  Hunt  to  mount  a  stump  and  to  demand  the 
surrender  of  the  station.  This  was  refused,  and  the  Indians  made  a  des- 
perate effort  to  take  the  block-hoase,  but  it  was  bravely  and  successfully 
defended.  Abner  Hunt  was  cruelly  tortured,  and  put  to  death  in  sight 
of  the  garrison.  5 


88  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

CAPTURE    OF    TOUNG    FULLER. 

Mr.  William  McGlure,  of  Franklin  County,  Ind.,  whose  father  came 
from  Kentucky  and  settled  near  Cleves  in  1804,  gave  the  following  nar- 
rative in  1879: 

"I  learned  from  Capt.  Isaac  Fuller,  of  this  county  (Franklin),  that 
his  father  lived  as  early  as  1794  or  1795  at  North  Bend  and  in  the  Big 
Bottom,  and  that  he  helped  to  raise  the  first  patch  of  corn  that  was  ever 
raised  by  white  men  in  the  Big  Bottom.  He  also  told  me  he  had  a 
brother  about  sixteen  years  of  age  taken  by  the  Indians  from  North 
Bend,  about  1795.  He  had  been  sent  after  the  cows.  The  Indians  de- 
coyed him  by  using  a  bell.  His  father,  alone,  followed  them  to  near 
Brookville,  and  stayed  all  night  on  the  place  on  which  I  now  live,  and 
watched  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  but  was  unable  to  effect  his 
son's  release.  The  Indians  took  him  to  the  Upper  Wabash  country,  and 
he  remained  with  them  about  two  years.  He  was  left  by  his  master  at 
the  camp  with  the  squaws,  with  directions  what  to  do,  but  after  the  In- 
dians left,  one  of  the  squaws,  a  half-sister  of  the  celebrated  Tecumseh, 
ordered  him  to  work  at  something  else,  which  he  refused  to  do,  when  she 
tried  to  kill  him.  He  kept  out  of  her  way  for  the  time,  believing  she 
would  kill  him  if  she  had  an  opportunity.  Soon  after  he  went  with  her 
fishing,  and  watching  an  opportunity,  he  struck  her  with  a  club  on  the 
back  of  the  head,  and  knocked  her  into  a  deep  hole  of  water,  where  he 
supposed  she  was  drowned.  Then  he  struck  out  for  Detroit,  where  he 
arrived  in  about  a  week,  subsisting  himself  as  best  he  could,  being  fol- 
lowed by  the  Indians  all  the  way,  whom  he  succeeded  in  eluding.  After 
he  arrived  in  Detroit  he  found  a  friend,  who  secreted  him  for  a  day  or 
two  until  the  Indians  ceased  hunting  for  him,  when  he  conveyed  him 
over  to  Maldon,  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  Detroit  Biver,  from  which 
place  he  went  to  Bufifalo,  N.  Y.,  and  from  there  he  went  home  through 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  down  the  Ohio  Kiver." 

THE    MURDER    OF    DE  MOSS.* 

In  the  spring  of  1793  a  number  of  families  from  Cohambia,  Cincin- 
nati and  North  Bend,  made  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami, 
which  was  called  the  Point.  Among  the  families  from  Columbia,  I 
recollect  those  of  Hugh  Dunn,  Benjamin  Randolph  and  Isaac  Mills. 
The  arrival  of  Gen.  Wayne's  army,  in  the  spring,  increased  the  confi- 
dence of  the  new  settlers,  and  caused  other  families  to  join  them.  They 
argued  that  the  presence  of  so  large  an  army  at  Cincinnati  would  deter 
the  Indians  and  keep  them  quiet.  But  some  who  thought  they  under- 
stood the  Indian  character  better,  said  they  would  constantly  keep  small 

*Dr.  Ezra  Ferris. 


INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS.  89 

parties  of  their  most  daring  warriors  hovering  about  our  frontiers  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  ai-my,  and  that  the  exposed  settlements 
would  be  more  liable  to  attack.  With  the  last  opinion  Mr.  William 
Smalley,  who  had  escaped  from  Indian  captivity,  agreed.  Mr.  Smalley 
warned  the  people  that  they  would  have  no  abatement  of  hostilities  until 
the  Indians  were  whipped.  He  said  they  as  much  expected  to  defeat 
Wayne  as  they  were  certain  they  had  defeated  Harmar  and  St.  Clair. 

During  the  summer  of  1793-94,  a  Mr.  Rittenhouse  built  a  mill  to 
grind  corn  on  a  small  stream  passing  down  from  the  hill  to  the  Miami, 
through  where  the  town  of  Cleves  now  stands.  The  mill  was  a  wet- 
weather  concern,  the,stream  being  small,  but  it  was  a  great  accommoda- 
tion to  the  people  at  that  time.  In  the  after  part  of  the  winter  or  begin- 
ning of  spring,  after  a  rain  sufficient  to  supply  the  mill  with  water,  Mr. 
DeMoss,  with  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Micajah  Dunn,  and  another 
named  Thomas  Fuller,  went  from  the  settlement  before  named  (Goose 
Pond)  to  Rittenhouse's  Mill,  with  each  a  bag  of  corn  to  have  ground. 
They  were  detained  so  as  not  to  start  home  until  after  dark;  that,  how- 
ever, produced  but  little  inconvenience  as  there  was  very  bright  moon- 
light. A  short  distance  after  leaving  the  mill,  they  came  to  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Wheeling,  and  seeing  several  persons  there,  Mr.  Dunn  and  the 
other  young  man  rode  up  to  the  door  to  make  some  inquiry,  but  Mr. 
DeMoss  rode  on  expecting  soon  to  be  overtaken  by  them. 

Whilst  sitting  on  their  horses  talking  about  twenty  minutes,  they 
heard  the  firing  of  guns  in  the  direction  DeMoss  had  gone;  that  did 
not  create  much  alarm,  however,  as  the  people  were  in  the  habit  of  going 
out  on  moonlight  nights  to  kill  game.  They  started  immediately  after 
hearing  the  guns,  and  rode  as  briskly  as  their  horses  could  travel  with 
the  load  they  had.  They  found  DeMoss  lying  across  the  path  dead,  and 
the  bag  of  meal  by  his  side.  It  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  describe 
their  feelings  in  that  trying  moment,  following  a  narrow  path  in  the 
woods,  surrounded  by  a  large  growth  of  trees,  behind  which  they  might 
easily  imagine  their  enemies  wei'e  concealed.  They  reached  their  homes, 
gave  the  alarm,  and  a  party  was  raised  to  go  after  and  carry  the  corpse 
of  DeMoss  to  his  family. 

This  bloody  scene  took  place  almost  within  hearing  of  Lawrence- 
burgh,  had  there  been  any  person  there  to  hear.  The  Mr.  Dunn  here 
alluded  to,  was  the  eldest  brother  of  Judge  Isaac  Dunn,  and  the  father 
of  Gersham  Dunn  and  others  of  Lawrenceburgh. 

MURDER    OF    BENJAMIN    COX    AND    THOMAS   WALTER. 

In  the  winter  of  1794-95,  Benjamin  Cox  and  Thomas  Walter  were 
killed  by  the  Indians  on  the  bank  of  Double  Lick  Run,  one-fourth  of  a 


90  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

mile  southwest  of  the  stone  which  marks  the  Hue  between  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana on  the  road  leading  from  Lawrenceburg  to  Elizabethtown.  Dr. 
Ezra  Ferris  thus  describes  this  act  of  savage  barbarity. 

"When  in  the  state  nature  had  formed  it,  and  before  it  had  been  sub- 
dued by  the  hand  of  man,  the  Big  Bottom  had,  in  addition  to  the  com- 
mon trees  of  the  forest,  including  thickets  of  plum  and  haw  trees,  a 
luxuriant  vegetable,  sometimes  called  hog-weed,  but  commonly  called 
horse-weed.  This  weed  was  thick  on  the  ground,  and  in  a  few  weeks  in 
summer  would  grow  to  the  height  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  bearing  a 
seed,  which,  when  ripe,  was  eaten  by  hogs.  Soon  after  the  settlement 
was  formed  by  the  white  people  on  the  east  side  of  the  Big  Miami  (near 
the  Point),  some  of  their  hogs  crossed  over  the  river  to  graze  and  feed  in 
these  thickets,  and  some  of  them  remained  so  long  that  no  one  continued 
to  exercise  ownership  over  them  or  their  increase,  until,^like  the  deer  in 
the  woods,  they  became  the  property  of  any  person  who  could  find  and 
take  them. 

"  Late  in  the  fall  of  1794  several  persons  from  the  settlement  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  crossed  over  into  the  bottom  in  search  of  hogs  to 
use  as  meat  for  the  ensuing  season.  Among  them  were  Isaac  Mills, 
Isaac  Dunn,  Benjamin  Cox,  Thomas  Walters,  Josej)h  Randolph,  Joseph 
Kitchel  and  Isaac  Vanness.  After  an  unsuccessful  search  for  the  most 
of  the  day  it  was  proposed  by  some  of  them  to  return  home  for  the  night 
and  renew  the  search  the  next  morning,  but  Cox  and  Walters  thought  it 
would  be  best  to  encamp  on  the  ground,  so  as  to  have  the  advantage  of  an 
early  start  in  the  morning;  the  balance  disagreeing  with  them  returned 
home,  and  they  remained  in  the  woods.  Indications  made  it  appear 
that  after  the  others  left  they  followed  down  Doable  Lick  Run,  about  100 
yards  below  the  place  where  the  road  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  Elizabeth - 
town  crosses  it,  where  they  selected  a  place  to  stay  for  the  night,  and 
made  a  fire  to  sleep  by  on  the  ground.  Toward  midnight  the  people  at 
the  settlement  were  very  much  alarmed  at  the  report  of  several  guns 
heard  in  the  direction  that  Cox  and  Walters  were  left  by  the  company, 
and  fears  were  entertained  of  their  safety. 

"  Early  the  next  morning  a  number  of  persons  started  to  ascertain  the 
fate  of  the  two  men.  They  repaired  to  the  place  where  the  company  left 
them  the  previous  evening,  but  not  finding  them,  they  scattered  through 
the  woods  in  search  of  them,  and  after  a  short  time  Mr.  Garrett  Vanness 
and  Isaac  Dunn,  who  were  following  down  the  creek,  came  upon  the  body 
of  Mr.  Cox  near  the  place  where  they  had  built  a  fire.  He  had  been 
shot  and  scalped  and  otherwise  mangled.  The  balance  of  the  company 
were  called  together,  and  after  a  little  search  found  Mr.  Walters 
dead  in  the  woods,  seventy  or  eighty  yards  from  where  he  was  first  shot. 


INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS.  91 

and  from  appearance  of  things  it  was  concluded  that  he  had  been  first 
wounded  and  m  ade  an  attempt  to  escape,  but  was  followed,  killed  and 
scalped. 

"These  bodies  presented  a  horrible  appearance,  and  they  were  the  last 
killed  in  the  Miami  country.  The  barbarity  the  savages  exercised  on 
them  gave  little  evidence  of  a  disposition  on  their  part  to  make  peace. 
The  traveler  passing  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  Elizabethtown,  as  he 
crosses  the  run  near  the  stone  building,  lately  the  residence  of  Thomas 
Miller,  may  at  any  time,  by  turning  his  head  to  the  right,  glance  his 
eye  over  the  spot  where  Benjamin  Cox  and  Thomas  Walters,  the  last  vic- 
tims of  savage  barbarity  in  the  war  closing  with  "Wayne's  treaty,  were 
cruelly,  murdered. " 

The  time  at  which  this  atrocity  was  committed  was  later  than  that 
stated  by  Dr.  Ferris.  Since  commencing  the  work  of  compiling  this 
history  we  have  been  enabled  to  tix  the  date  from  the  tile  of  the  Centinel 
of  the  Northicestern  Territovy.  In  its  issue  of  February  7,  1795,  that 
journal  contained  the  following  item:  "Arrived  here  yesterday  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  Mr.  Isaac  Mills  who  informs  us  that  on  Monday 
evening  last  the  Indians  killed  two  men  by  the  names  of  Benjamin  Cox 
and  Thomas  Walter,  about  one  mile  and  a  half  from  that  place."  Accord- 
ing to  this  the  date  of  the  murder  was  February  2,  1795. 

PREMIUMS    FOR     INDIAN    SCALPS. 

The  long  war  which  was  ended  with  Wayne's  treaty  at  Greenville 
was  a  cruel  one.  The  Miami  country  was  known  as  the  "Miami  Slaugh- 
ter House."  The  bloody  depredations  of  the  savages  so  incensed  the 
settlers  that  they  were  induced  to  take  measures  for  their  protection 
which  it  is  not  pleasant  to  record.  It  is  not  perhaps  generally  known  that 
men  of  high  standing  formed  a  committee  to  publish  a  notice  offering 
premiums  for  Indian  scalps  and  to  keep  the  scalp  money  subscribed  by 
"many  good  citizens  with  a  design  to  check  the  incursions  of  the  hostile 
Indians."  A  portion  of  Dearborn  County  was  included  in  the  district 
within  which  young  men  were  offered  inducements  to  range  the  woods 
"to  prevent  savages  from  committing  depredations  on  defenseless  citi- 
zens." Early  in  the  spring  of  1794,  a  subscription  paper  was  in  circu- 
lation at  Columbia  to  provide  premiums  for  scalps  of  Indians.  And  in 
the  Centinel  of  the  Northwest  Territory  of  May  17,  1794,  a  committee 
consisting  of  L.  Woodward,  Darius  C.  Orcutt  and  James  Lyons,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  William  Brown,  Ignatius  Ross  and  John  Reily,  of  Colum- 
bia, publish  a  notice  offering  rewards  for  Indian  scalps  taken  between 
the  18th  of  April  and  the  25th  of  December,  1794,  in  a  district  begin- 
ning on  the  Ohio  ten  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  extend- 


92  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

ing  ten  miles  west  of  the  Great  Miami,  and  twenty-five  back  into  the 
country,  above  where  Harmar's  trace  crosses  the  Little  Miami,  and  in  a 
direct  line  west.      Rewards  were  offered  as  follows: 

"That  for  every  scalp  having  the  right  ear  appendant,  for  the  first 
ten  Indians  who  shall  be  killed  within  the  time  and  limits  aforesaid,  by 
those  who  are  subscribers  to  the  said  articles,  shall,  whenever  collected, 
be  paid  the  sum  of  $136;  and  for  every  scalp  of  the  like  number  of  Indians, 
having  the  right  ear  appendant,  who  shall  be  killed  within  the  time  and 
limits  aforesaid  by  those  who  are  not  subscribers,  the  Federal  troops  ex 
cepted,  shall,  whenever  collected,  be  paid  the  sum  of  $100;  and  for 
every  scalp  having  the  right  ear  appendant  of  the  second  ten  Indians 
who  shall  be  killed  within  the  time  and  limits  aforesaid,  by  those  who 
are  subscribers  to  the  said  articles,  shall,  whenever  collected  as  afore- 
said, be  paid  the  sum  of  $117;  and  for  every  scalp  having  the  right  ear 
appendant  of  the  second  ten  Indians  who  shall  be  killed  within  the  time 
and  limits  aforesaid  by  those  who  are  not  subscribers  to  the  said  articles 
shall,  whenever  collected,  be  paid  the  sum  of  $95." 

Wayne's  decisive  victory  in  August,  1794,  put  a  check  to  the  depre- 
dations, but  it  did  not  at  once  reduce  them  to  absolute  submission.  De 
Moss,  Cox  and  Walters  were  all  killed  several  months  after  the  victory 
at  Fallen  Timbers.  According  to  Dr.  Ezra  Ferris  the  Indians  continued 
their  hostilities  on  the  settlers  at  Columbia  for  some  months  after 
Wayne's  victory.  Robert  Griffin  and  a  young  Paul  and  David  Jennings 
were  killed,  and  Reason  Bailey  was  captured  by  the  Indians  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Columbia,  all  in  the  fall  of  1794. 

The  Centinel  of  the  Northu-'est  Territory  of  March  14,  1795,  an- 
nounced that  on  Saturday  evening,  March  6,  the  Indians  stole  eight 
horses  from  North  Bend;  the  next  morning  Lieut.  Aladon  Symmes  with 
a  party  of  twenty-seven  men  pursued  them  about  sixty  miles  and  retook 
the  horses;  but  unfortunately  the  Indians  discovering  his  party  made 
their  escape.  As  late  as  May  9,  1795,  the  Indians  stole  nine  horses 
from  Ludlow's  Station,  only  five  miles  from  Cincinnati,  and  though  pur- 
sued made  their  escape. 

The  treaty  of  peace  at  Greenville,  concluded  August  3,  1795,  put  an 
end  to  the  murder  of  white  men  by  Indians  in  the  Miami  settlements, 
but  horses  continued  to  be  stolen  by  them.  Judge  Symmes  thought  that 
white  men  who  bought  horses  from  the  Indians  were  to  blame,  as  the 
Indians  would  steal  horses  to  take  the  place  of  those  they  had  sold. 
The  judge  wrote  to  Gen.  Dayton,  in  1796,  that  he  wished  Congress  would 
make  it  a  penal  offense  for  a  white  man  to  buy  a  horse  from  an  Indian,  as 
no  Indian  would  walk  when  he  could  steal  a  horse. 

Sometimes,  however,  a  white  man  would   steal   a  horse   from  the  In- 


PIONEER    HISTORY.  93 

dians,  and  we  have  the  record  of  the  conviction  of  at  least  one  man  for 
this  offense.  In  March,  1796,  at  Cincinnati,  the  seat  of  justice  for  the 
whole  Miami  region,  Daniel  McKean,  lately  arrived  from  New  Jersey, 
was  found  guilty  of  stealing  a  horse  from  an  Indian.  He  was  sentenced 
to  pay  the  red  man  $1,  and  receive  thirty-nine  lashes  in  the  most  public 
streets  of  the  town,  and  bear  on  the  front  of  his  hat,  during  the  inflic- 
tion of  the  punishment,  a  paper,  with  the  inscription  in  large  letters: 
"I  stole  a  horse  from  the  Indians." 


CHAPTER  V. 

PIONEER  HISTORY. 

Some  Very  Early  Settlements  Attempted  Northwest  of  the  Ohio- 
Important  Dates— Tanner's  Station— Ma j.  Byrd's  Stockade  Near 
THE  Site  or  Lawrenceburgh— Pioneer  Adventures  at  the  Mouth 
OF  the  Great  Miami— The  Story  of  Benjamin  Walker— Progress 
OF  THE  Early  Settlements— Early  Surveys  and  Sales  of  Land- 
Indian  Bands  Encamp  Near  the  Settlements— Early  Commercial 
Intercourse  and  Prices  —  Pioneer  Life— Log-Cabins  and  Their 
Furniture— The  Primitive  Forests  and  Wild  Beasts— Character 
of  the  Early  Emigrants. 

THE  question  who  were  the  first  white  men  to  build  their  cabins  in 
Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties,  is  an  interesting  one,  but  it  can 
now  never  be  satisfactorily  answered.  One  cause  of  the  uncertainty  in 
this  matter  is  the  fact  that  settlements  were  attempted  on  the  northwest 
side  of  the  Ohio  at  a  very  early  period,  some  of  them  being  commenced 
not  long  after  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  in  January,  1785.  Settle- 
ments were  attempted  at  various  places  along  the  Ohio,  but  were  pre- 
vented by  the  authorities  of  the  United  States.  Proclamations  by  Con- 
gress were  issued  against  settling  upon  the  public  domain  as  early  as 
1785.  Hundreds  of  families  had  built  their  cabins  on  the  Indian  side 
of  'the  Ohio,  previous  to  the  settlement  at  Marietta,  in  April,  1788,  and 
were  driven  away  by  the  military  power  of  the  United  States.  Jan- 
uary 24,  1785,  the  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  instructed  Col.  Har- 
mar  "  to  employ  such  force  as  he  may  judge  necessary  in  driving  off 
persons  attempting  to  settle  on  the  lands  of  the  United  States." 

From  the  correspondence  published  in  the  St.  Clair  papers,  it  appears 
that  the  number  of  persons  who  had  established  themselves  on  the 
northwest  side  of  the  Ohio  as  intruders  on  the  government  lands  before 


94  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

the  settlements  at  Marietta  and  Cincinnati,  was  mucli  larger  than  is 
usually  supposed.  John  Emerson,  March  12,  1785,  took  upon  him- 
self the  authority  to  issue  a  proclamation  for  elections  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio  for  the  choosing  of  members  of  a  conven- 
tion for  forming  a  constitution,  the  elections  to  take  place  April  10, 
1785;  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto, 
one  on  the  Muskingum,  and  one  at  the  house  of  Jonas  Menzous,  the  loca- 
tion of  which  was  not  given.  Ensign  John  Armstrong  reported  early 
in  1785,  that  from  the  best  information  he  could  obtain,  there  were 
1,500  persons  on  the  Miami  and  Scioto  and  upward  of  300  families  on 
the  Hockhocking  and  Muskingum,  and  down  the  Ohio  for  a  great  dis- 
tance there  was  scarcely  one  bottom  without  one  or  more  families.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  some  of  these  early  settlements  were  attempted 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  and  within  the  limits  of  Dearborn 
and  Ohio  Counties.  These  early  intruders  on  the  government  lands 
were  dispossessed  by  the  authorities. 

To  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  bloody  character  of  the  war 
waged  by  the  Indians  against  the  white  settlements  northwest  of  the  Ohio, 
it  will  appear  highly  improbable  that  there  could  have  been  any  white  set 
tiers  below  the  Great  Miami  from  the  commencement  of  that  war  in  1789 
until  Wayne's  treaty  of  peace  in  1795.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
during  this  savage  war  there  was  scarcely  any  military  protection  for  the 
Miami  settlements.  Judge  Burnett  says:  "  It  is  a  perversion  of  language 
to  apply  the  phrase  'military  protection  '  to  anything  enjoyed  by  the 
Miami  people  at  the  time  when  protection  was  most  wanted.  If  it  be 
asked  what  protection  they  really  did  receive  during  the  period  of  great 
est  exposure,  the  answer  may  be  given  in  a  few  words.  Eighteen  sol- 
diers were  stationed  at  Columbia  in  the  fall  of  1 788 ;  one  company 
halted  at  North  Bend  thirty-four  days  in  the  winter  of  1788-89;  after 
which  a  detachment  of  eighteen,  rank  and  file,  landed  at  the  same  place, 
where  they  remained  a  few  days,  and  then  proceeded  to  Cincinnati."  If 
we  add  to  these  Maj.  Byrd's  battalion  at  the  stockade  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Great  Miami  during  the  last  months  of  the  Indian  war,  we  have  the 
entire  military  protection  afforded  to  three  infant  settlements  extending 
nearly  thirty  miles  in  an  enemy's  country. 

With  these  facts  before  us  it  would  seem  highly  improbable  that 
any  families  with  women  and  childi-en  were  permanently  settled  in  Dear- 
born or  Ohio  Counties  much  before  the  ratification. of  the  treaty  at  Green- 
ville, although  some  of  the  more  daring  woodmen  may  have  ventured  to 
build  huts  north  of  the  Ohio  and  below  the  Great  Miami  soon  after 
Wayne's  victory.  If  so,  they  were  willing  not  only  to  brave  dangers 
from  savage  foes,  but  to  endure  privations  of  a  lonely  life  in  the  wilder- 


PIONEER   HISTORY.  95 

ness.  Family  traditions  concerning  early  settlements  often  confound 
the  date  of  the  first  visit  of  a  pioneer  to  his  future  home  with  that  of  his 
first  settlement.  Some  of  the  early  settlers  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Coun- 
ties came  f I'om  Kentucky,  and  some  of  them  may  have  remained  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river  awaiting  the  time  when  they  could  safely  remove 
north  of  the  Ohio.  Doubtless  in  some  cases  crops  of  corn  were  grown 
north  of  the  river  by  those  who  still  lived  in  the  more  secure  settlements 
on  the  Kentucky  side. 

IMPORTANT    DATES. 

The  following  dates  exhibit  the  progress  of   the  white  man's  domin- 
ion'along  the  Great  Miami: 
\/    First  settlement  at  North  Bend,  February,  1789. 

Dunlap's  Station,  protected  by  a  strong  fortification,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Great  Miami,  seventeen  miles  above  Cincinnati,  established  early 
in  the  spring  of  1790. 

Maj.  Byrd's  stockade  on  the  west  side  of  the  Great  Miami,  erected 
in  the  winter  of  1793-94. 

Wayne's  victory,  August  20,  1794. 
V  Hamilton  laid  out  on  the  east  side  of   the   Great  Miami,    December 
17,  1794. 

Wayne's  treaty  of  peace,  August  3,  1795. 

Government  survey  of  lands,  west  of  the  Great  Miami,  commenced 
in  1798. 

Act  of  Congress  providing  for  sale  of  lands  west  of  the  Great  Miami, 
May  10,  1800. 

First  sale  of  lands  west  of  the  Great  Miami,  first  Mondav  in  April, 
1801. 

tanner's    STATION. 

This  station  gave  name  to  Tanner's  Creek,  and  was  situated  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  creek  on  the  site  of  Petersburg.  The  following  account 
of  the  station  is  from  Collins'  History  of  Kentucky:  "Tanner's  Station,  on 
the  Ohio  River,  twenty-two  miles  below  Cincinnati,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Petei'sburg,  was  settled  by  and  named  after  Rev.  John 
Tanner,  the  first  Baptist  preacher  in  this  part  of  Kentucky,  certainly 
before  1790.  In  April,  1785,  a  company  from  Pennsylvania,  composed 
of  John  Hindman,  William  West,  John  Simmons,  John  Seft,  old  Mr. 
Carlin  and  their  families  cleared  thirty  or  forty  acres  on  the  claim  of  Mr. 
Tanner — the  first  clearing  in  Boone  County,  Ky.  They  remained  there 
a  month  or  six  weeks,  then  went  to  Ohio  to  make  improvements,  but  did 
not  remain  there.  In  1790  John  Tanner,  a  little  boy  of  nine  years,  was 
made  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and   in   1791,  an   elder  brother,  Edward, 


96  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

« 

nearly  fifteen  (both  sons  of  Rev.  John  Tannei').  Edward  made  his  escape 
two  days  after  his  capture  and  returned  home.  Except  that  the  Indians 
told  Edward  of  their  having  taken  John  the  year  before,  the  latter  was 
not  heard  of  by  his  friends  for  twenty-four  years.  He  spent  his  life 
among  the  Indians,  and,  in  1818,  was  employed  by  the  United  States 
authorities  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  as  an  interpreter.  The  father  removed  in 
1798  to  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  and  died  there  a  few  years  after." 

A  confirmation  of  the  very  early  date  of  the  establishment  of  this 
station  is  found  in  the  journal  of  Maj.  Denny  at  Fort  Finney,  who 
records  that  on  March  20,  1786,  two  of  the  people  at  "a  station  six  miles 
below  us  on  the  Kentucky  side,"  had  been  attacked  by  the  Indians,  one  of 
them  killed,  and  the  other  wounded. 

MAJ.   BYRd's  stockade  NEAR  LAWRENCEBURGH. 

Early  in  1794  Maj.  Byrd,  with  a  battalion  of  troops  of  Gren. 
Wayne's  army  erected  a  stockade  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Great  Miami, 
two  miles  above  Lawrenceburgh,  where  he  I'emained  until  the  treaty  of 
Greenville  in  August,  1795.  The  purpose  of  the  stockade  was  to  pi'otect 
keel -boats  with  supplies  for  Wayne's  army,  which  might  descend  the 
Ohio  and  ascend  the  Great  Miami  as  far  as  Fort  Hamilton,  and  to  pro- 
tect the  settlements  on  the  east  side  of  the  Great  Miami.  It  was  in  De- 
cember, 1793,  that  Gen.  Wayne  built  Fort  Greenville.  He  detailed  a 
strong  guard  for  the  defense  of  Fort  Hamilton,  and  when  the  army 
went  into  winter  quai'ters  at  Fort  Greenville,  he  directed  a  force  under 
Maj.  Byrd,  known  as  the^Rowdy  Regiment,  to  encamp  on  the  fii-st  high 
ground  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Great  Miami,  above  its  mouth,  for  the 
purpose  before  mentioned.  The  site  of  the  stockade  is  known  as  Rowdy 
Camp  to  this  day  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lawrenceburgh.  The  trans- 
portation of  supplies  for  the  army  at  Greenville  from  Cincinnati  was  a 
business  which  made  the  track  up  the  Mill  Creek  Valley,  first  opened  by 
Gen.  St.  Clair,  a  great  thoroughfare  for  teams,  citizens  and  soldiers. 
Both  citizens  and  soldiers  were  sometimes  waylaid  by  the  Indians,  killed 
and  plundered.  When  there  was  sufficient  stage  of  water  in  the  Great 
Miami  the  best  way  of  transporting  heavy  articles  to  Fort  Hamilton  was 
by  keel  boats. 

PIONEER  ADVENTURES  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF    THE  GREAT  MIAMI.* 

On  Judge  Symmes'  second  tour  West,  in  the  spring  of  1790,  among 
other  families  accompanying  him  were  three  families  of  Guards — Alex- 
ander, Gersham  and Guard,  cousins.     Alexander,  his  wife,  Hannah, 

and  their  four  children,  settled  at  North  Bend;  and  Gersham  Guard  and 

*By  Samuel  Morriaoii. 


PIONEER    HISTORY.  97 

family  and  his  brother  and  family,  settled  some  five  miles  east.  Alex- 
ander's children  were  Timothy,  David  and  Bailey.  At  this  period  there 
was  one  company  of  troops  stationed  at  the  Bend  to  guard  the  settle- 
ments. The  latter  part  of  this  year  (1790)  was  spent  in  rearing  cabins 
and  hunting  to  keep  the  family  in  venison.  The  next  spring,  1791,  their 
colony  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Capt.  Joseph  Hayes  and  family; 
his  two  married  sons,  Job  and  Joseph  Hayes,  Jr.,  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren; his  two  Bons-in-law;  Thomas  Miller,  Sr.,  wife  and  'five  children; 
James  Bennett  and  wife;  Benjamin  Walker,  wife  and  three  children; 
Samuel,  John,  Joseph  and  their  sister,  Jane  Walker,  Isaac  Polk,  Garrett 
Van  Ness  and  Joseph  Kitchell.  This  added  thirteen  effective  men  to 
their  colony.  This  entire  colony  remained  as  best  they  could  upon  their 
scanty  means,  hunting,  farming  a  little,  while  some  of  them  had  to  go 
to  Big  Bone  Licks  to  manufacture  salt. 

In  1793  Capt.  Joseph  Hayes  took  a  lease  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Miami  River,  and  nearly  the  whole  colony  removed  after  having  been 
driven  out  of  their  cabins  by  the  great  flood  of  that  year.  At  this  place 
they  had  previously  erected  their  log-cabins,  in  the  form  of  block- 
bouses.  Here  they  were  joined  by  several  other  families,  among  them, 
William  Gerard,  wife  and  two  sons,  Eli  and  Elias,  and  their  daughter 
(Mrs.  John  Crist),  John  White  and  wife.  Alexander  Gaard  and  family 
packed  up  all  their  goods  in  a  pirogue  for  the  purpose  of  removing  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami.  Here  they  landed  the  pirogue  and 
Mrs.  Guard  and  the  children  got  out  to  walk,  while  Mr.  Guard  and 
Capt.  Hayes  undertook  to  take  the  pirogue's  load  of  goods  around  into 
the  Miami.  The  Miami  being  a  little  swollen,  ran  out  with  a  strong 
current.  This  bore  the  boat  against  the  root  of  a  sunken  tree,  upsetting 
the  boat  and  thereby  losing  all  their  goods,  and  came  near  drowning  the 
two  men.  They,  however,  succeeded  in  getting  out.  Thus  Mr.  Guard 
and  family  were  left  without  anything  except  what  they  had  upon  their 
backs.  Among  other  things  they  lost  all  of  their  money,  which  was  in 
silver.  Mr.  Guard  procured  a  cabin  and  moved  into  it.  In  1796  Mr. 
Guard  and  family  moved  west  of  the  Great  Miami,  and  settled  in  that 
beautiful  bottom  west  of  Elizabethtown,  and  from  thence  into  Dearborn 
County. 

From  1793  to  1795  a  battalion  of  troops  under  command  of  Maj. 
Byrd  were  stationed  at  a  stockade  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Great  Miami 
River  one  and  one-half  miles  from  its  mouth  to  guard  these  exposed  settle- 
ments. But  notwithstanding  this  garrison  and  troops,  the  Indians  occa- 
sionally stepped  in  and  murdered  the  whites  and  stole  horses.  In  the 
summer  of  1794,  John  Tanner  ran  a  keel- boat  from  his  station  to  Fort 
Hamilton   for  the   purpose  of    supplying  the   troops  at  that  place  with 


98  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

provisions;  while  rounding  the  island  in  the  Great  Miami,  near  the 
mouth  of  Whitewater,  the  Indians  in  ambush  fired  on  his  canoe,  killing 
a  colored  man,  his  bowsman.  That  island  ever  since  goes  by  the  name 
of  Negro  Island.  Not  long  after  the  above  occurrence,  Eli  Gerard,  of 
the  Hayes  Station,  was  sent  over  west  of  the  Miami  River  to  hunt  their 
horses,  which  had  strayed  off.  Three  Indians  gave  chase  to  him  and 
pursued  him  to  the  Miami  River.  Gerard  plunged  into  the  river  and 
swam  across;  when  the  Indians  came  upon  the  bank  he  was  two-thirds 
of  the  way  over,  and  a  tomahawk  was  thrown  at  him.  Alexander  Guard 
died  about  1810. 

THE    STORY    OF    BENJAMIN    WALKER.* 

From  the  earliest  recollections  of  the  writer  he  has  heard  various 
reasons  given  for  the  removal  of  Mr.  Walker  to  this  county,  and  the  se- 
cluded life  he  led  for  a  number  of  years  in  this  unbounded  wilderness. 
These  stories  were  so  different  that  it  left  the  mind  in  doubt  as  to  the 
truth  of  any,  but  all  so  far  agreed  that  he  had  done  some  deed  of  daring 
that  required  him  to  leave  his  home  and  native  State,  and  after  wander 
ing  hundreds  of  miles  through  an  unknown  country  he  found  a  stopping 
place  near  the  mouth  of  Laughery  Creek,  where  he  lived  alone,  hunting 
for  food,  and  on  the  constant  lookout  to  avoid  the  dangers  that  surround- 
ed him.  All  these,  being  told  over  at  the  winter  fireside,  surrounded  his 
name  with  a  kind  of  romance  that  mystery  aided  to  impress  on  our 
youthful  mind. 

And  while  we  would  gladly  have  removed  this  impression  of  mystery, 
we  never  took  the  liberty  of  referring  to  the  subject  in  presence  of  any 
of  the  family,  but  since  we  commenced  writing  these  reminiscences  of 
pioneer  life  we  have  been  assisted  by  the  memoiy  of  others  with  interest- 
ing facts  that  may  be  presented  to  the  reader,  and,  among  others,  with  a 
reliable  history  of  Benjamin  Walker,  and  the  occurrence  that  drove  him 
from  wife  and  children. 

As  stated  above,  Mr.  Walker  lived  alone,  but  in  a  few  years  others 
came  to  the  neighborhood,  and,  having  decided  to  make  this  his  home, 
he  got  word  to  his  wife  to  join  him,  which  she  did,  with  their  three  chil- 
dren. 

While  living  in  this  forest  home  they  were  often  visited  by  an  Indian 
chief,  called  Captain  Green.  One  day  this  Indian  came  into  the  cabin 
with  such  an  expression  of  rage  on  his  countenance,  and  tomahawk  in 
hand,  that  the  relator,  then  a  little  boy,  hid  behind  his  mother's  chair. 
The  chief,  addressing  himself  to  Walker,  said:  "You  kill  Indian!" 
Walker  instantly  sprang  to  his  feet  at   this  unexpected  arraignment,  and 

*By  George  W.  Lane. 


PIONEER   HISTORY.  99 

bravely  replied:  "Yes,  kill  Indian — me  kill  two  Indians!  "  and  stopping 
for  a  moment,  as  if  to  weigh  the  effect,  added:  "They  killed  my  father!" 
The  chief  threw  down  his  tomahawk,  and  held  out  his  hand — "  Right, 
right! — me  kill,  too!" 

This  led  to  an  explanation  of  the  affair,  and  the  boy,  who  had  quailed 
before  the  savage  eye  of  the  wild  man  of  the  wilderness,  heard  the  story 
from  his  father's  lips,  and  told  it  to  John  Cobb,  Esq.,  a  few  years  since, 
while  on  a  visit  to  Mr.  James  Walker,  in  Illinois,  and  Mr.  Cobb  to  the 
writer,  who,  with  the  assistance  of  George  W.  Chesman,  will  try  and 
place  it  in  shape  for  the  reader. 

More  than  eighty  years  ago  (1876)  two  Indians  visited  a  village  in 
Pennsylvania,  and,  among  other  things,  got  to  bragging  how  many 
whites  they  had  killed  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  showing  a 
stick  with  notches  cut,  they  pointed  to  it,  and  said  "so  many."  A  bystander 
noticed  a  few  long  marks,  as  a  boy  tallying  a  game,  and  wished  to  know 
what  they  meant,  and  was  told  that  the  long  marks  were  for  officers,  and 
one  of  the  longest  was  for  Col.  Walker.  The  mention  of  this  name  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  three  young  men,  who  had  been  left  orphans 
years  before.  The  Indian  continued:  "Col.  Walker  no  brave — he  beg — 
wanted  to  come  home, "  and  with  many  taunts,  and  many  particulars  of 
his  death,  these  fatherleys  boys  listened  in  silence,  but  after  the  Indians 
had  gotten  through  and  left  town,  these  three  held  a  council,  and  decided 
that  these  Indians  should  never  brag  again  of  killing  their  father,  and 
started  in  pursuit. 

After  they  had  gone  some  distance  one  of  the  brothers  hesitated  and 
advised  them  not  to  go  any  farther,  but  the  two  elder  were  determined 
to  go  on  and^  drove  this  one  back.  They  went  on  and  overtook  the 
Indians  near  a  stream.  Ben  had  with  him  a  short  sword,  John  a  gun. 
They  had  agreed  upon  a  plan  of  attack  when  they  got  near  enough. 
The  one  with  the  gun  was  to  shoot  the  Indian  in  advance,  and  Benja- 
min was  to  attack  the  other  with  his  sword.  At  the  signal  the  gun  did 
its  work,  but  not  effectually;  the  Indian  fell,  but  only  wounded.  Ben 
raised  his  sword  to  strike,  but  as  it  came  down  it  struck  a  limb  and  the 
Indian  started  to  ran.  Walker  after  him.  The  Indian  plunged  into  a 
stream,  but  not  alone.  They  struggled  in  the  water  for  some  time,  un- 
til the  Indian  drew  a  knife,  which  Walker  wrenched  from  him  and 
killed  him.  By  this  time  the  wounded  Indian  had  found  his  feet,  and 
seeing  the  contest  in  the  water,  tried  to  get  there  in  time  to  assist  his 
friend,  but  his  speed  did  not  serve  him,  for  when  he  got  there  Walker 
had  killed  the  first  and  soon  dispatched  the  second.  This  over,  a  new 
trouble  met  him,  some  of  the  citizens  of  the  village,  suspecting  some- 
thing might  be  on  hand  of  the  character  related,  had  also  sought  the 


100  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

lonely  woods,  and  before  young  Walker  had  left  the  stream,  came  in 
sight  and  spoke  of  arresting  him.  He  told  them  not  to  undertake  it, 
as  enough  blood  had  been  spilled  that  day,  and  they  might  take  his 
word  for  it  that  he  would  not  be  taken  alive.  They  did  take  his  word. 
The  young  Walkers  avoided  the  officers  by  hiding  in  a  cellar  for 
nine  days,  when  they  took  advantage  of  a  storm  and  reached  the  woods, 
then  the  mountains,  then  the  Ohio  Valley,  the  3'ounger  (John)  stopping 
in  the  western  part  of  Ohio,  and  the  hero  of  our  story  coming  on  to 
Dearborn  County,  where  he  resided  a  number  of  years,  improved  a 
valuable  farm  and  was  blessed  with  a  large,  worthy  and  respectable 
family. 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS. 

The  details  of  the  history  of  the  early  settlements  will  be  found  in 
the  chapters  of  this  work  devoted  to  the  township  histories.  A  brief 
resume  of  some  of  the  very  earliest  settlements  is  here  given.  Some 
of  the  dates  here  given  are  taken  from  the  historical  sketch  prepared  for 
deposit  in  the  corner-stone  of  the  court  house  at  Lawrenceburgh  and 
others  from  the  best  attainable  sources  of  information. 

Early  in  January,  1796,  Adam  Flake  and  family  settled  on  South 
Hogan  Creek. 

In  February,  1796,  Ephraim  Morrison,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
built  the  first  log-cabin  and  cut  away  the  first  trees  on  the  bank  of  the 
Ohio,  just  above  the  mouth  of  Hogan    Creek,  where  Aurora  now  stands. 

Early  in  May,  1796,  Capt.  Joseph  Hayes  and  family  and  Thomas 
Miller  and  family  settled  in  the  big  bottom  three  and  one  half  miles 
north  of  Lawrenceburgh. 

Sometime  in  1798  Henry  Hardin  and  family  settled  on  the  site  of 
Hardinsburgh ;  William  Gerard  and  family  and  George  Crist  settled  one 
mile  above  Hardinsburgh;  Daniel  Lynn,  William  Blue,  David  Blue  and 
Benjamin  Walker  settled  on  Laughery  Creek;  and  William  Allensworth, 
Isaac  Allen,  Judge  John  Livingston,  John  Dawson  and  John  White 
made  settlements.  In  the  same  year  William  Ross  settled  at  the  mouth 
of  Laughery  Creek,  but  afterward  moved  further  up  that  creek. 

In  1797  Daniel  Perrin  and  several  persons  named  Cherry  made 
settlements. 

^j  In  1798  John  Fulton  and  his  son  Samuel,  with  their  families,  arrived 
at  the  site  of  Rising  Sun;  Robert  and  Jesse  Drake  settled  on  Grant's 
Creek;  Absalom  Gray  and  family  settled  between  Hogan  and  Laughery 
Creeks;  Amos,  Henry  and  James  Bruce  settled  on  North  Hogan  Creek; 
George  Glen  and  George  Grove  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Hogan 
Creek;  Ebenezer  Foot  and  family  and  Francis  and  Nicholas  Cheek  made 
their  settlements. 


PIONEER   HISTORY. 


101 


October  11,  1798,  Israel  Ludlow  commenced  to  run  ^and  mark 
out  the  first  principal  meridian,  now  the  State  line  between  Ohio  and 
Indiana.  Benjamin  Chambers  and  William  Ludlow  were  the  United 
States  surveyors  who  surveyed  most  of  the  land  in  Dearborn   and  Ohio 

Counties. 

In  the  spring  of  1799,  Benjamin  Chambers  carried  the  surveyor's 
compass  and  measuring  chain  over  the  land  on  which  Rising  Sun  is  sit- 
uated. 

In  1799  Benjamin  Avery  located  on  land  in  Randolph  Township 
adjoining  the  northern  limits  of  Rising  Sun. 

The  foregoing  does  not  purport  to  be  a  complete  list  of  those  who 
settled  in  the  two  counties  before  the  year  1800.  The  pioneers,  however, 
whose  settlements  date  back  to  the  last  century,  were  comparatively  few 
in  number.  Those  who  located  in  the  two  counties  before  the  first  Gov- 
ernment sale  of  lands,  generally  expected  to  secure  their  titles  and  save 
the  improvements  they  had  made  by  purchasing  of  the  Government  the 
tracts  on  which  they  had  settled  as  soon  as  it  was  possible  so  to  do.  Yet 
but  few  tracts  were  purchased  in  1801,  the  first  year  in  which  sales  were 
made  by  the  Government  of  lands  west  of  the  Great  Miami.  The  earli- 
est settlers  usually  established  themselves  near  the  Ohio  or  the  larger 
streams  flowing  into  that  river. 

For  some  years  after  the  whites  made  their  homes  in  southeast  Indiana 
parties  of  Indians  encamped  occasionally  near  the  settlements.  They 
usually  behaved  civilly,  though  they  were  much  inclined  toward  horse 
stealing.  When  Ephraim  Morrison  first  settled  here  in  1796,  the  notori- 
ous white  savage,  Simon  Girty,  was  sometimes  in  this  region.  On  one 
occasion  Blue  Jacket  borrowed  a  saddle  from  Morrison  in  order  to 
accompany  Girty  to  Detroit.  The  saddle  was  brought  back  according  to 
promise.  "  During  the  Indian  troubles  which  preceded  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  and  continued  throughout  the  last  war  with  England,  much 
alarm  was  frequently  caused  by  the  movements  of  the  Indians  through- 
out all  the  settlements  in  Indiana,  and  indeed  at  Cincinnati.  Block- 
houses were  built  in  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties  for  protection,  and  in 
some  cases  families  removed  to  more  secure  localities.  The  population 
of  Dearborn  County  did  not  increase  rapidly  until  after  the  close  of  the 
war  of  1812. 

February  2,  1798,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  reported 
to  the  United  States  Senate  that  no  contracts  had  yet  been  made  for  sur- 
veying  the  public  lands  below  the  Great  Miami,  but  that  surveys  were 
expected  to  be  commenced  during  the  coming  season;  and  it  appears  that 
surveys  were  commenced  below  the  Great  Miami  before  the  close  of  that 
year. 


102  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

These  lands  were  first  offered  for  sale  at  Cincinnati  on  the  first 
Monday  in  April,  1801,  under  the  direction  of  the  register  of  the  land 
office  and  either  the  governor  or  secretary  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
The  sales  were  to  be  made  at  public  auction  for  three  weeks,  but  no  lands 
were  to  be  sold  for  less  than  $2  per  acre.  All  lands  remaining  unsold  at 
the  close  of  the  three  weeks  of  public  sales,  might  be  disposed  of  at 
private  sale  at  not  less  than  $2  per  acre.  The  lands  were  offered  in 
sections  and  half  sections. 

The  public  lands  at  first  were  sold  on  credit,  the  deferred  payments 
bearing  interest.  This  system  was  a  disastrous  one.  A  great  debt  due 
the  Government  accumulated  to  such  proportions  that  it  far  exceeded  the 
ability  of  the  people  to  pay.  In  1820  the  system  was  changed;  all 
lands  were  thenceforth  sold  for  cash;  the  price  was  reduced  to  $1.25  per 
acre,  and  lands  could  be  bought  in  small  tracts  of  eighty  acres. 

EARLY  COMMERCIAL  INTERCOURSE  AND  PRICES. 

In  the  Centinel  of  the  Northwest  Territory  for  January  17,  1795, 
Elijah  Craig,  Jr.,  advertised  from  the  "Mouth  of  the  Kentucky"  that  he 
would  have  boats  ready  by  the  1st  of  February  at  that  point  to  transfer 
goods.  Freight  of  goods  to  Frankfort  would  be  50  cents  per  100;  to 
Sluke's  warehouse,  75  cents,  and  Dick's  River,  $1.25. 

The  rates  of  freight  on  public  property  carried  by  private  boats  from 
Fort  Washington  to  Fort  Hamilton  up  the  Great  Miami,  were — for  flour 
per  barrel  $1.10;  whisky,  $1.33;  corn,  26|  cents  per  bushel,  and  all 
other  property  50  cents  per  100  pounds.  From  Fort  Washington  to  the 
mouth  of  Stillwater,  $3.30  for  flour,  $4  for  whisky,  83^  cents  for  corn 
and  $1.60  per  100  for  other  articles. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  settlements  in  Dearborn  County,  Cincinnati 
was  the  principle  market  for  the  whole  Miami  country.  It  was  then  a 
little  village,  shown  by  a  census  taken  in  1795  to  contain  a  population 
of  500  persons,  living  in  ninety-four  log-cabins  and  ten  frame  houses. 
A  voyage  to  New  Orleans  was  then  made  by  flat-'boats  in  100  days.  For 
the  journey  eastward,  the  primitive  pack-horses  were  beginning  to  be 
exchanged  for  the  large  and  heavy  old-time  Pennsylvania  wagons  with 
four  and  six  horse  bell  teams.  As  a  consequence  of  the  difficulty  attend- 
ing commercial  intercourse,  every  article  the  Miami  farmer  could  produce 
was  low;  every  foreign  article  he  was  compelled  to  buy  was  relatively 
high.  Corn  and  oats  were  10  or  12  cents  a  bushel,  sometimes  8  cents; 
wheat,  30  or  40  cents;  beef,  $1.50  to  $2,  and  pork,  $1  to  $2  per  100. 
On  the  other  hand,  here  are  some  of  the  prices  for  foreign  articles  our 
fathers  paid  at  Cincinnati  in  1799:  coffee,  50  cents  per  pound;  tea,  80 
cents;  pins,  25  cents  a  paper;  ginghams,  50  cents  per  yard;  fine   linen, 


PIONEER  HISTORY.  105 

$1  per  yard;  brown  calico,  7  shillings  6  pence  to  10  shillings;  goslin 
green  and  gray  cotton  velvet,  7  shillings  6  pence  to  11  shillings  6  pence; 
cassimere,  $3  per  yard;  cotton  stockings,  6  shillings  to  15  shillings; 
bonnet  ribbon,  $1  per  yai'd;  "thin  linen  for  flour- sifters,"  10  shillings 
per  yard;   "  small  piece  of  ribbon  for  tying  cues,"  11  pence. 

There  was  little  encouragement  for  the  furmer  to  raise  more  than  he 
could  use  at  home.  In  1806,  a  traveler  wrcte  that  he  had  no  conception 
how  the  farmers  can  maintain  themselves  with  flour  at  $3.50  per  barrel, 
and  pork  $2.50  per  100.  The  merchants,  however,  he  said,  made  an 
exorbitant  profit.  In  four  years,  those  who  came  from  Baltimore  or 
Philadelphia  with  goods  obtained  on  credit,  had  paid  their  debts  and 
lived  at  their  ease.  There  was  little  use  for  corn  even  for  cattle  or  hogs, 
as  the  cattle  found  subsistence  on  the  wild  grasses  of  the  woods,  and 
hogs  lived  and  fattened  on  the  mast  of  hickory  nuts,  acorns  and  beech 
nuts. 

PIONEER     LIFE. 

A  truthful  account  of  the  mode  of  life  among  the  early  settlers  of 
the  Ohio  forests  cannot  fail  to  interest  and  instruct.  As  the  backwoods 
period  recedes,  its  interest  increases.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  of 
the  traditions  of  the  pioneers,  giving  homely  but  faithful  pictures  of  the 
every-day  life  of  the  early  settlers  have  not  been  preserved.  Their  rec- 
ollections of  their  journeys  from  the  older  States  over  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  the  Hat-boat  voyage  down  the  Ohio,  the  clearing  in  the  wil- 
derness, the  f.L-st  winter  in  the  rude  cabin  and  the  scanty  stores  of  provis- 
ions, the  cultivation  of  corn  among  the  roots  and  stumps,  the  cabin- 
raisings  and  log-rollings,  the  home  manufacturing  of  furniture  and 
clothing,  the  hunting  parties  and  corn-huskings,  their  social  customs 
and  the  thousand  scenes  and  novel  incidents  of  life  in  the  woods,  would 
form  a  more  entertaining  and  instructive  chapter  than  their  wars  with 
the  Indians  or  their  government  annals.  .Far  different  was  the  life  of 
the  settler  on  the  Ohio  from  that  of  the  frontiersman  of  to-day.  The 
railroad,  the  telegraph  and  the  daily  newspaper  did  not  then  bring  the 
comforts  and  luxuries  of  civilization  to  the  cabin-door  of  the  settler;  nor 
was  the  farm  marked  out  with  a  furrow  and  made  ready  for  cultivation 
by  turning  over  the  sod. 

The  labor  of  opening  a  farm  in  a  forest  of  large  oaks,  maples  and 
hickories,  was  very  great,  and  the  difficulty  was  increased  by  the  thick 
growing  spice  bushes.  Not  only  were  tx'ees  to  be  cut  down;  the  branch- 
es were  to  be  cut  off  from  the  trunk,  and,  with  the  undergrowth  of 
bushes,  gathered  together  for  burning.  The  trunks  of  the  large  trees 
were  to  be  divided  and  rolled  into  heaps  and  reduced  to  ashes.  With 
hard  labor  the  unaided  settlor  could  clear   and   burn  an  acre  of  land  in 

6 


106  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

three  weeks.  It  usually  required  six  or  seven  years  for  the  pioneer  to 
open  a  small  farm  and  build  a  better  house  than  his  first  cabin  of  round 
logs.  The  boys  had  work  to  do  in  gathering  the  brush  into  heaps.  A 
common  mode  of  clearing  was  to  cut  down  all  the  trees  of  the  diameter 
of  eighteen  inches  or  less,  clear  off  the  undergrowth  and  deaden  the 
larger  trees  by  girdling  them  with  the  ax,  and  allowing  them  to  stand 
until  they  decayed  and  fell.  This  method  delayed  the  final  clearing  of 
the  land  for  eight  or  ten  years,  but  when  the  trunks  fell  they  were 
usually  dry  enough  to  be  burned  into  such  lengths  as  to  be  rolled  to- 
gether. 

The  first  dwellings  of  the  settlers  were  cabins  made  of  round  logs 
notched  at  the  ends,  the  spaces  between  the  logs  filled  in  with  sticks  of 
wood  and  daubed  with  clay.  The  roof  was  of  clapboards  held  to  their 
places  by  poles  reaching  across  the  roof  called  weight-poles.  The  floor 
was  of  puncheons,  or  planks  split  from  logs,  two  or  three  inches  in 
thickness,  hewed  on  the  upper  side.  The  fire-place  was  made  of  logs 
lined  with  clay  or  with  undressed  stone,  and  was  at  least  six  feet  wide. 
The  chimney  was  often  made  of  split  sticks  plastered  with  clay.  The  door 
was  of  clapboards  hung  on  wooden  hinges  and  fastened  with  a  wooden 
latch.  The  opening  for  the  window  was  not  unfrequently  covered  with 
paper  made  more  translucent  with  oil  or  lard.  Such  a  house  was  built 
by  a  neighborhood  gathering  with  no  tools  but  the  ax  and  the  frow,  and 
often  was  finished  in  a  single  day. 

The  furniture  of  the  first  rude  dwellings  was  made  of  puncheons. 
Cupboards,  seats  and  tables  were  thus  made  by  the  settler  himself. 
Over  the  door  was  placed  the  trusty  flint-lock  rifle,  next  to  the  ax  in  use- 
fulness to  the  pioneer,  and  near  it  the  powder-horn  and  bullet-pouch. 
Almost  every  family  had  its  little  spinning-wheel  for  flax  and  big 
spinning-wheel  for  wool.  The  cooking  utensils  were  few  and  simple, 
and  the  cooking  was  all  done  at  the  fireplace.  The  long  winter 
evenings  were  spent  in  contentment,  but  not  in  idleness.  There  was 
corn  to  shell  and  tow  to  spin  at  home,  and  the  corn-huskings  to  attend 
at  the  neighbors'.  There  were  a  few  books  to  read,  but  newspapers  were 
rare.  The  buckeye  log,  because  of  its  incombustibility,  was  valuable  as 
a  back-log,  and  hickory-bark  cast  into  the  fire-place  threw  a  pleasing 
light  over  a  scene  of  domestic  industry  and  contentment. 

Rev.  William  C.  Smith,  in  his  "Indiana  Miscellanies,"  thus  speaks 
of  the  way  of  lighting  these  primitive  homes:  "During  the  day  the  door 
of  the  cabin  was  kept  open  to  afford  light,  and  at  night,  through  the 
winter  season,  light  was  emitted  from  the  fire-place,  where  huge  logs 
were  kept  burning.  Candles  and  lamps  were  out  of  the  question  for  a 
few  years.      When  these  came  into  use  they  were  purely  domestic  in  their 


PIONEER  HISTORY.  107 

manufacture.  Candles  were  prepared  by  taking  a  wooden  rod  some  ten 
or  twelve  inches  in  length,  wrapping  a  strip  of  cotton  or  linen  around  it, 
then  covering  it  with  tallow  pressed  on  with  the  hand.  These  'sluts,' 
as  they  were  sometimes  called,  answered  the  purpose  of  a  very  large  can- 
dle, and  afforded  light  for  several  nights.  Lamps  were  prepared  by 
dividing  a  large  turnip  in  the  middle,  scraping  out  the  inside  quite  down 
to  the  rind,  then  inserting  a  stick,  say  three  inches  in  length,  in  the  cen- 
ter, so  that  it  would  stand  upright.  A  strip  of  cotton  or  linen  cloth  was 
then  wrapped  around  it,  and  melted  lard  or  deer's  tallow  was  poured  in 
till  the  turnip  rind  was  full,  when  the  lamp  was  ready  for  use.  By  the 
light  of  these  during  the  long  winter  evenings  the  women  spun  and 
sewed,  and  the  men  read  when  books  could  be  obtained.  When  neither 
lard  nor  tallow  could  be  had,  the  large  blazing  fire  supplied  the  needed 
light.  By  these  great  fire  places  many  cuts  of  thread  have  been  spun, 
many  a  yard  of  linsey  woven,  and  many  a  frock  and  buckskin  pantaloons 
made." 

The  cabin-raising  and  the  log-rolling  were  labors  of  the  settlers,  in 
which  the  assistance  of  neighbors  was  essential  and  cheerfully  given. 
When  a  large  cabin  was  to  be  raised,  preparations  would  be  made  before 
the  appointed  day,  the  trees  would  be  cut  down,  the  logs  dragged  in  and 
the  foundation  laid  and  the  skids  and  forks  made  ready.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  the  day  fixed,  the  neighbors  gathered  from  miles  around;  the 
captain  and  corner-men  were  selected,  and  the  work  went  on  with  bois- 
terous hilarity  until  the  walls  were  up  and  the  roof  weighted  down. 

The  cabin  of  round  logs  was  generally  succeeded  by  a  hewed  log- 
house  more  elegant  in  appearance  and  more  comfortable.  Indeed,  houses 
could  be  made  of  logs  as  comfortable  as  any  other  kind  of  building,  and 
were  erected  in  such  manner  as  to  conform  to  the  taste  and  means  of  all 
descriptions  of  persons.  For  large  families,  a  double  cabin  was  common; 
that  is,  two  houses,  ten  or  twelve  feet  apart,  with  one  roof  covering  the 
whole,  the  space  between  serving  as  a  hall  for  various  uses.  Henry  Clay, 
in  an  early  speech  on  the  public  lands,  referred  to  the  different  kinds  of 
dwellings  sometimes  to  be  seen  standing  together,  as  a  gratifying  evidence 
of  the  progress  of  the  new  States.  "I  have,"  said  he,  ''often  witnessed 
this  gratifying  progress.  On  the  same  farm  you  may  sometimes  behold, 
standing  together,  the  first  rude  cabin  of  round  and  unhewn  logs,  and 
wooden  chimneys;  the  hewed  log-house  chinked  and  shingled,  with  stone 
or  brick  chimneys;  and  lastly,  the  comfortable  stone  or  brick  dwelling, 
each  denoting  the  different  occupants  of  the  farm  or  the  several  stages  of 
the  condition  of  the  same  occupant.  What  other  nation  can  boast  of 
such  an  outlet  for  its  increasing  population,  such  bountiful  means  of  pro- 
moting their  prosperity  and  securing  their  independence?" 


108  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

The  wearing  apparel  was  chiefly  of  home  manufacture,  The  flax  and 
wool  necessary  for  clothing  were  prepared  and  spun  in  the  family,  cotton 
being  comparatively  scarce.  Cax'ding  wool  by  hand  was  common. 
Weaving,  spinning,  dyeing,  tailoring  for  the  family  were  not  unfre- 
quently  all  carried  on  in  the  household.  Not  a  few  of  the  early  settlers 
made  their  own  shoes.  Wool  dyed  with  walnut  bark  received  the  name 
of  butternut.  Cloth  made  of  mixed  linen  and  wool,  called  linsej,  or 
linsey-woolsey,  of  a  light  indigo  blue  color,  was  common  for  men's  wear. 
A  full  suit  of  buckskin,  with  moccasins,  was  sometimes  worn  by  a  hunter, 
but  it  was  not  common. 

With  the  early  settlers,  almost  the  only  modes  of  locomotion  were  on 
foot  and  on  horseback.  The  farmer  took  his  corn  and  wheat  to  mill  on 
horseback;  the  wife  went  to  market  or  visited  her  distant  friends  on 
horseback.  Salt,  hardware  and  merchandise  were  brought  to  the  new 
settlements  on  pack-horses.  The  immigrant  came  to  his  new  home  not 
unfx'equently  with  provisions,  cooking  utensils  and  beds  packed  on  horses, 
his  wife  and  small  children  on  another  horse.  Lawyers  made  the  circuit 
of  their  courts,  doctors  visited  their  patients,  and  preachers  attended 
their  preaching  stations  on  horseback. 

The  country  was  infested  with  horse-thieves.  The  unsettled  condi- 
tion of  the  country  made  the  recovery  of  stolen  horses  very  difficult.  The 
horse-stealing  proclivity  of  the  Indians  was  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
hatred  of  the  early  settlers  toward  the  red  men;  but  after  all  depredations 
by  the  Indians  had  ceased,  the  farmers  continued  to  suffer  much  from  horse- 
thieves,  who  were  believed  to  be  often  organized  into  gangs.  The  great 
value  of  the  horse,  and  the  difficulty  of  recovering  one  when  run  away, 
caused  the  pioneer  to  look  with  naalignant  hatred  upon  the  horse-thief. 
The  early  legislatures  were  composed  almost  entirely  of  farmers,  and  they 
endeavored  to  break  up  this  kind  of  larceny  by  laws  inflicting  severe  pen- 
alties. 

The  little  copper  distillery  was  to  be  found  in  most  neighborhoods. 
Rye  and  corn  whisky  was  a  common  drink.  It  was  kept  in  the  cupboard 
or  on  the  shelf  of  almost  every^family,  and  sold  at  all  the  licensed  tav- 
erns, both  in  the  town  and  country.  The  earh^  merchants  advertised 
that  good  rye  whisky,  at  40  cents  a  gallon,  would  be  taken  in  exchange 
for  goods.  Houses  and  lots  were  offered  for  sale,  flour  or  whisky  taken  in 
full  payment.  It  was  a  part  of  hospitality  to  offer  the  bottle  to  the  vis- 
itor. Whisky  in  a  tin  cup  was  passed  around  at  the  house-raising,  the 
log  rolling,  and  in  the  harvest  field.  It  is  a  mooted  question  not  easily 
settled  whether  intemperance  was  more  common  then  than  now.  That 
the  spirituous  liquors  of  those  days  were  purer  is  admitted,  but  the  notion 
that  they  were  less  intoxicating  seems  not  to  have   been   well   founded. 


PIONEER  HISTORY.  109 

Excess  in  drinking  then  as  now  brought  poverty,  want  and  death.  The 
early  settler  with  the  purest  of  liquors  could  drink  himself  to  death. 

The  breaking  up  of  ground  and  cultivation  of  crops  was  attended 
with  difficulty.  The  bar  share  and  shovel  plows,  and  later  the  bull-plow 
with  wooden  moldboard,  husk  collars  and  tugs,  and  rope  traces  and 
withes;  the  sickle  first,  then  the  cradle  and  scythe,  and  threshing  with  a 
flail,  or  treading  out  with  horses,  and  cleaned  by  uieans  of  a  sheet  by  the 
aid  of  several  persons,  characterized  the  implements  of  farming. 

It  is  not  easy  to  describe  the  forest  as  it  appeared  in  its  primitive 
luxuriance  to  the  eyes  of  the  pioneers.  No  woodland  to-day,  even  in  the 
most  unfrequented  spot,  wears  the  rich  and  exuberant  garb  which  nature 
gave  it.  Under  the  transforming  power  of  civilization,  the  earth  assumes 
a  new  aspect.  Even  the  woods  and  the  streams  are  changed.  Herbage 
and  shrubs  which  once  grew  luxuriantly  in  our  forests  have  been  eaten 
out  by  cattle,  until  they  can  only  be  found  in  the  most  secluded  and  in- 
accessible places.  Trees  cut  down  are  succeeded  by  others  of  a  different 
growth. 

The  buffalo  and  elk,  probably  never  numeroiis  in  this  vicinity,  had 
disappeared  before  the  approach  of  the  white  man,  but  the  bear,  the  deer, 
the  wolf,  the  panther,  the  wildcat,  the  otter,  the  beaver,  the  porcupine, 
the  wild  turkey,  the  rattlesnake,  racer,  moccasin  and  copperhead  of  the 
fauna,  which  have  now  disappeared,  remained  in  greater  or  less  numbers 
for  some  years  after  the  occupancy  by  the  whites.  The  streams  were  in- 
fested with  leeches.  Swine  were  the  chief  means  of  the  destruction  of 
poisonous  snakes. 

Wolves  were  so  numerous  and  destructive  to  sheep  that  premiums 
were  provided  for  killing  them.  Countless  numbers  of  squirrels  were  to 
be  found  in  the  woods,  and  unceasing  vigilance  was  required  on  the  part 
of  the  settler  to  protect  his  corn-fields  from  their  ravages.  They  some- 
times passed  over  the  country  in  droves,  traveling  in  the  same  direction. 
These  animals  were  a  nuisance,  and  were  too  common  to  be  regarded  as 
valuable  for  food. 

Other  kinds  of  game  wei-e  abundant.  For  some  years  the  red  deer 
were  as  numerous  as  cattle  to  day.  Wild  turkeys  could  be  shot  or  en- 
trapped in  great  numbers.  When  mast  was  abundant,  a  drove  of  more 
than  100  wild  turkeys,  all  large  and  fat,  might  be  found  in  the  near 
vicinity  of  the  settlements,  and  when  mast  was  scarce  large  numbers 
would  sometimes  come  to  the  barn-yards  for  grain.  The  rivers  abounded 
with  fish. 

The  early  immigrants  may  be  described  as  a  bold  and  resolute,  rather 
than  a  cultivated  people.  It  has  been  laid  down  as  a  general  truth  that 
a  population  made  up  of  immigrants  will  contain  the  hardy  and  vigorous 


110  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

elements  of  character  in  a  far  greater  proportion  than  the  same  number 
of  persons  born  upon  the  soil  and  accustomed  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of 
their  fathers.  It  required  enterprise  and  resolution  to  sever  the  ties  which 
bound  them  to  the  place  of  their  birth,  and,  upon  their  arrival  in  the 
new  country,  the  stern  face  of  nature  and  the  necessities  of  their  condi- 
tion made  them  bold  and  energetic.  Individuality  was  fostered  by  the 
absence  of  old  familiar  customs,  family  alliances  and  the  restraints  of  old 
social  organizations.  The  early  settlers  were  plain  men  and  women  of 
good  sense,  without  the  refinements  which  luxury  brings  and  with  great 
contempt  for  all  shams  and  mere  pretense. 

A  majority  of  the  early  settlers  belonged  to  the  middle  class.  Few 
were,  by  affluence,  placed  above  the  necessity  of  labor  with  their  hands, 
and  few  were  so  poor  that  they  could  not  become  the  owners  of  small 
farms.  The  mass  of  the  settlers  were  the  owners  in  fee  simple  of  at  least' 
a  quarter  of  a  section  of  land,  or  160  acres.  Many  possessed  a  half  sec- 
tion or  a  section.  After  the  settlements  were  begun,  few  persons  owned 
land  in  large  tracts  of  two  or  more  thousand  of  acres;  while  the  poorest 
immigrant,  if  industrious  and  thrifty,  could  lease  land  on  such  terms  that 
he  would  soon  become  the  owner  of  a  small  farm  in  five  or  six  years. 

The  backwoods  age  was  not  a  golden  age.  However  pleasing  it  may 
be  to  contemplate  the  industry  and  frugality,  the  hospitality  and  general 
sociability  of  the  pioneer  times,  it  would  be  improper  to  overlook  the  less 
pleasing  features  of  the  pictui-e.  Hard  toil  made  men  old  before  their 
time.  The  means  of  culture  and  intellectual  improvement  were  inferior. 
In  the  absence  of  the  refinements  of  literature,  music  and  the  drama,  men 
engaged  in  rude,  coarse  and  sometimes  brutal  amusements.  Public 
gatherings  were  often  mari-ed  by  scenes  of  drunken  disorder  and  fighting. 
The  dockets  of  the  courts  show  a  large  proportion  of  cases  of  assault  and 
battery  and  afi'ray.  While  some  of  the  settlers  had  books  and  studied 
them,  the  mass  of  the  people  had  little  time  for  study.  Post  roads  and 
postoffices  were  few,  and  the  scattered  inhabitants  rarely  saw  a  news  paper 
or  read  a  letter  from  their  former  homes.  Their  knowledge  of  politics 
was  obtained  from  the  bitter  discussions  of  opposing  aspirants  for  office. 
The  traveling  preacher  was  their  most  cultivated  teacher.  The  traveler 
from  a  foreign  country  or  from  one  of  the  older  States  was  compelled  to 
admit  that  life  in  the  backwoods  was  not  favorable  to  amenity  of  manners. 
One  of  these  travelers  wrote  of  the  Western  people  in  1802:  "Their  gen- 
erals distill  whisky,  their  colonels  keep  taverns  and  their  statesmen  feed 
pigs." 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  Ill 


CHAPTER  VI. 
CIVIL  ORGANIZATION. 

Organization  of  Dearborn  County— The  Older  Counties  of  which  it 
Formed  a  Part— Virginia  Counties— Changes  of  Boundaries- 
First  Officers  and  First  Courts— Curious  Court  Incident— Early 
Administration  of  Justice— Division  ok  Dearborn  and  Formation 
OF  Ohio  County— First  Officers  and  First  Courts  of  Ohio  County 
—Dearborn  County  Buildings— Ohio  County  Buildings. 

DEARBORN  COUNTY  was  formed  by  proclamation  of  William  Henry 
Harrison,  governor  of  Indiana  Territory,  March  7,  1803,  and  was 
named  in  honor  of  Maj.-Gen.  Henry  Dearborn,  at  that  time  Secretary  of 
War  under  President  Jefferson.  As  originally  formed,  it  embraced  all 
the  territory  bounded  by  the  Ohio  State  line  on  the  east,  the  old  Indian 
bouodary  line  on  the  west  and  north,  and  the  Ohio  River  on  the  south, 
and  included  all  of  Ohio  County,  nearly  all  of  Switzerland,  and  por- 
tions  of  several  counties  along  the  State  line  up  to  Fort  Recovery. 

The  reader  who  desires  to  know  the  full  history  of  his  county,  will  be 
interested  in  knowing  the  older  counties,  of  which  Dearborn  and  Ohio 
were  a  part.  From  1790  until  1798  these  two  counties  formed  a  part  of 
Knox  County,  with  the  seat  of  justice  at  Vincennes.  June  22,  1798, 
Gov.  St.  Clair  issued  a  proclamation,  changing  the  western  boundary  of 
Hamilton  County  from  the  Great  Miami  River  to  the  Indian  boundary 
line,  running  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River  to  Fort  Recovery; 
from  that  date  these  counties  were  a  part  of  Hamilton  County,  with  the 
seat  of  justice  at  Cincinnati  until  April  30,  1802,  when  Congress  estab- 
lished the  present  western  boundary  line  of  Ohio.  From  April  30,1802, 
until  January  24,  1803,  they  were  under  no  county  organization  what- 
ever. From  January  24,  1803,  to  March  7,  1803,  a  part  of  Clark  County, 
with  the  seat  of    justice  at  Jeffersouville. 

But  at  still  earlier  dates,  this  territory  had  been  made  a  part  of  polit- 
ical divisions  called  counties.  During  the  Revolution,  this  region  would 
have  been  marked  on  a  map  of  the  North  American  Colonies  as  a  part  of 
Virginia,  whose  extensive  domain,  making  her  the  mother  of  States  as 
well  as  of  Presidents,  reached  to  the  Mississippi.  Out  of  this  broad  ter- 
ritory vast  counties  were  formed.  The  county  of  Kentucky  included  the 
whole  of  the  present  State  of  that  name.     In  October,  1778,  Virginia,  by 


112  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

statute,  declared  that:  "All  the  citizens  of  the  commonwealth  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  are  already  settled  or  who  shall  hereafter  settle  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  Ohio,  shall  be  included  in  a  distinct  county,  which  shall 
be  called  Illinois  County."  This  territory,  then,  once  formed  a  part  of 
the  vast  western  county  of  Virginia  called  Illinois. 

But,  going  back  a  few  years  further,  we  find  this  region  included  in 
a  county  of  still  more  vast  extent.  South  of  the  Natural  Bridge,  between 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies,  and  intersected  by  the  James  River, 
is  a  county  of  Virginia,  with  Fincastle  as  its  seat  of  justice,  named 
Botetourt,  in  honor  of  Norborne  Rerkeley,  Lord  Botetourt,  a  conspic- 
uous actor  in  American  colonial  history,  and  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia. That  county  was  established  in  1769,  and  was  bounded  on 
the  east  by  the  Blue  Ridge,  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi,  and  com- 
prised Western  Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota.     Fincastle  then,  as  now,  was  the  county  seat. 

The  following  curious  provision  is  fou.nd  in  the  act  of  Virginia, 
creating  Botetourt  County: 

And  whereas,  the  people  situated  on  the  Mississippi,  in  the  said  county  of 
Botetourt,  will  be  very  remote  from  the  court  liouse,  and  must  necessarily  become  a 
separate  county  as  soon  as  their  numbers  are  sufficient — which  probably  will  happen 
in  a  short  time:  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  (House  of  Bur- 
gesses) that  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  said  county  of  Botetourt,  which  lies 
on  the  said  waters,  shall  be  exempted  from  the  payment  of  any  levies  to  be  laid  by 
the  said  county  court,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  court  house  and  prison  for  said 
county. 

The  boundary  between  Jefferson  and  Dearborn  Counties,  established 
by  act  of  November  23,  1810,  commenced  on  the  Ohio  River  at  the  mouth 
of  Log  Lick,  now  in  Switzerland  County;  thence  to  the  old  Indian 
boundary;  and  thence  with  said  boundary  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
Grousland  Purchase. 

A  portion  of  the  above  territory  was  stricken  from  Jefferson  and 
attached  to  Dearborn  by  act  of  September  7,  1814,  viz.:  All  that  portion 
of  Jefferson  County  which  lies  east  of  the  old  Indian  boundary  and  north 
of  the  line  dividing  Sections  19  and  30,  Town  4,  Range  3  west.  Also 
from  a  point  beginning  where  the  line  between  Townships  Nos.  6  and  7 
north.  Range  13  east,  intersects  the  old  Indian  boundary;  thence  with 
said  line  west  to  the  corner  of  Sections  32  and  33,  Town  7,  Range 
12  east;  thence  north  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Section  21,  Town  10,Range 
12;  thence  east  on  what  is  now  the  line  between  Franklin  and  Ripley 
Counties  to  the  old  Indian  boundary  line;  thence  southwardly  with  said 
line  to  the  point  of  beginning. 

The  above  last  described  tract  was  taken  from  Dearborn  to  form  a 
part  of  Ripley  County  by  the  act  of  December  27,  1816. 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  113 

In  1814  the  line  between  Sections  19  and  30,  Town  4,  Range  3  west 
was  extended  east  to  the  Ohio  River  and  now  forms  the  north  boundary 
of  Switzerland  County. 

By  aot  of  January  7,  1845,  all  that  part  of  Dearborn  County  which 
lies  south  of  Laughery  Greek  was  attached  to  Ohio  County, leaving  Dear- 
born with  its  present  boundary  lines,  viz. :  Beginning  at  the  confluence 
of  Laughery  Creek  with  the  Ohio  River;  thence  up  said  creek  with  its 
meanders  to  the  old  Indian  boundary  line;  thence  with  said  line  north- 
wardly to  the  line  dividing  fractional  townships  Nos.  8  and  9;  thence 
east  to  the  first  principal  meridian,  being  the  Ohio  State  line;  thence 
south  to  the  Ohio  River;  thence  down  said  river  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

FIRST    OFFICERS    AND    COURTS. 

On  the  same  day  that  Dearborn  County  was  organized,.  Gov.  William 
Henry  Harrison  appointed  the  following  named  persons  justices,  to  hold 
the  courts  of  common  pleas,  the^  courts  of  general  quarter  sessions  of 
the  peace,  and  the  orphan's  court  under  the  ordinance  and  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  Territory,  viz. :  Benjamin  Chambers,  Jabez  Percival, 
Barnet  Hulick,  John  Brownson,  Jeremiah  Hunt,  Richard  Stevens,  Will- 
iam Major  and  James  McCarty.  Other  civil  officers  appointed  at  the 
same  time  were  Samuel  C.Vance,  clerk  of  courts,  and  James  Dill, recorder. 
The  commissions  of  all  the  officers  dated  from  March  7,  1803. 

^  August  15,  1803,  the  following  persons  were  appointed  officers  of 
the  militia  of  Dearborn  Cointy,  viz.:  William  Hall,  Samuel  Fulton, 
Daniel  Lynn,  Barnet  Hulick  and  Jeremiah  Johnston,  captains;  William 
Standiford,  William  Spencer,  William  Cheek,  James  Hamilton  and 
William  AUensworth,  lieutenants;  Gersham  Lee,  Thomas  Fulton, 
Michael  Flake,  William  Thompson  and  Ja,m£is  Buchanan,  ensigns. 
August  23,  1808,  David  Lamphere  was  commissioned  sheriff,  James 
Hamilton,  recorder,  vice  James  Dill,  resigned,  and  Jonathan  White, 
coroner. 

Tl;ie  first  session  of  the  court  of  general  quarter  sessions  of  the 
peace  is  believed  to  have  commenced  oq  the  first  Monday  of  September, 
1803.  In  the  proclamation  of  the  governor  establishing  the  county,  the 
courts  were  directed  to  be  held  in  the  town  of  Lawrenceburgh,  which  had 
been  laiJ  out  in  the  spring  of  1802.  Dr.  Jabez  Percival,  one  of  the 
judges,  had  built  a  double  log-cabin,  and  in  it  the  first  courts  were  held. 

A  curious  incident,  illustrative  of  the  primitive  mode  of  administer- 
ing justice,  is  related  on  the  highest  authority  as  having  occurred  in  an 
early  court  of  this  county.  An  altercation  arising  between  an  unman- 
ageable and  contemptuous  witness  and  one  of  the  judges,  the  witness 
sustained  his  side  of  the  argument  by  seizing  a  clapboard  and  striking  at 


114  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

the  judge.  The  judge  fended  off  the  lick  which  was  aimed  at  his  head 
with  his  arm.  Both  clapboard  and  the  judge's  arm  were  broken  by  the 
sudden  and  violent  contact  of  the  two.  This  was  considered  a  contempt 
of  court,  and  the  witness  was  ordered  to  jail,  but  there  was  no  jail,  and 
as  the  most  feasible  means  of  carrying  out  the  sentence  of  imprisonment, 
his  feet  and  hands  were  tied,  he  was  laid  along  the  ground  and  a  section 
of  worm  fence  was  built  up  over  him,  the  lower  rail  just  touching  his 
neck.  In  this  position  he  was  kept  for  some  hours,  by  which  time  it  is 
fair  to  conclude  he  was  possessed  by  a  realizing  sense  of  the  inconven- 
ience attending  a  disrespectful  treatment  of  the  court. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  EARLY  COURTS. 

Hon.  Oliver  H.  Smith,  who  practiced  extensively  in  all  the  counties 
of  southeastern  Indiana,  beginning  in  1820,  thus  describes  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice: 

"  The  county  was  new,  sparsely  settled,  and  being  on  the  Western 
frontier,  the  towns  and  villages  were  filled  with  Indians  trading  their 
peltries,  wild  game  and  moccasins  ornamented  with  the  quills  of  the  por- 
cupine, with  the  settlers,  for  calicoes,  whisky,  powder,  lead,  beads  and 
such  other  articles  as  met  their  fancy.  The  population  of  the  country 
embraced  by  the  circuit  was  a  hardy,  fearless  and  generally  honest  but 
more  or  less  reckless  people,  such  as  are  usually  to  be  found  advancing 
upon  the  frontiers  from  more  civilized  life,  and  consequently  there  were 
more  collisions  among  them,  more  crimes  committed  calling  for  the  action 
of  the  criminal  courts  than  is  common  in  older  settled  and  more  civil  - 
ized  parts  of  the  older  States. 

"The  judiciary  system  at  the  time  referred  to,  was,  like  the  country, 
in  its  infancy.  The  circuit  court  was  composed  of  a  presiding  judge, 
elected  by  the  Legistature,  who  presided  in  all  the  courts  in  the  circuit, 
and  two  associate  judges,  elected  in  each  county  by  the  people.  These 
'side  judges,'  as  they  were  then  called,  made  no  pretensions  to  any  par- 
ticular knowledge  of  the  law,  but  still  they  had  the  power  to  overrule  the 
presiding  judge  and  give  the  opinion  of  the  court,  and  sometimes  they 
even  'outguessed'  the  president,  giving  the  most  preposterous  reasons 
imaginable  for  their  decisions,  as,  in  one  instance,  that  of  a  writ  of 
sciy^e  facias  to  revive  a  judgment,  would  not  lie  unless  it  was  sued  out 
within  a  year  and  a  day.  The  decision  oE  the  associates  was  affirmed  in 
the  supreme  court,  for  other  reasons,  of  course.  The  court  houses  were 
either  frame  or  log  buildings,  arranged  to  hold  the  court  in  one  end  and 
the  grand  jury  in  the  other,  the  petit  jury  being  accommodated  in  some 
neighboring  outbuildings.  The  clerks  had  very  little  qualification  for 
their  duties;  still  they  were  honest,  and  the  most  of  them   could  write 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  115 

more  legibly  than  Rufus  Choate,  United  States  Senator.  The  sheriffs 
were  elected  by  the  people  as  they  are  now,  and  seem  to  have  been  se- 
lected as  candidates  on  account  of  their  fine  voices  to  call  the  jurors  and 
witnesses  from  the  woods  from  the  doors  of  the  court  house,  and  their 
ability  to  run  down  and  catch  offenders.  The  most  important  personages 
in  the  country,  however,  were  the  young  lawyers,  universally  called 
'squires'  by  the  old  and  young,  male  and  female.  Queues  were  much  in 
fashion,  and  nothing  was  more  common  than  to  see  one  of  these  young 
'squires'  with  a  wilted  rorum  hat,  that  had  once  been  stiffened  with  glue 
in  its  better  days,  upon  his  head,  from  the  back  part  of  which  hung  a 
cue  three  feet  long,  tied  from  head  to  tip  with  an  eel  skin,  walking  in 
evident  superiority,  in  his  own  estimation,  among  the  people  in  the  court 
yard,  sounding  the  public  mind  as  to  his  prospects  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature.  There  were  no  caucuses  or  conventions  then.  Every  can- 
didate brought  himself  out  and  ran  upon  his  own  hook.  If  he  got  beat, 
as  the  most  of  them  did,  he  had  nobody  to  blame  but  himself  for  becom- 
ing a  candidate;,  still,  he  generally  charged  it  upon  his  friends  for  not 
voting  for  him,  and  the  next  season  found  him  once  more  upon  the  track, 
sounding  his  own  praises. 

"  The  court  rooms  in  those  days  were  prepared  and  furnished  with 
much  simplicity,  and  yet  they  seemed  to  answer  all  the  purposes  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  due  administration  of  justice.  The  building  gen- 
erally contained  two  rooms,  the  court  room  being  the  larger,  at  one  end 
of  which  there  was  a  platform  elevated  some  three  feet  for  the  judges, 
with  a  long  bench  to  seat  them.  These  benches  were  very  substantial  in 
general,  sufficient  to  sustain  the  most  weighty  judges,  yet  on  one  occa- 
sion the  bench  gave  way,  and  down  came  three  fat,  aldermanly  judges  on 
the  floor.  One  of  them,  qaite  a  wag,  seeing  the  'squires'  laughing,  re- 
marked: 'Gentlemen,  this  is  a  mighty  weak  bench.'  The  bar  had  their 
benches  near  the  table  of  the  clerk,  and  the  crowd  was  kept  back  by  a 
long  pole  fastened  with  withes  at  the  ends.  The  crowds  at  that  day 
thought  the  holding  of  a  court  a  great  affair;  the  people  came  hundreds 
of  miles  to  see  the  judges  and  hear  the  lawyers  'plead,'  as  they  called  it. 
On  one  occasion  there  came  on  to  be  tried  before  the  jury  an  indictment  for 
an  assault  and  battery  against  a  man  for  pulling  the  nose  of  another  who 
had  insulted  him.  The  court  room  was  filled  to  suffocation,  the  two  as- 
sociate judges  were  on  the  bench;  the  evidence  had  been  heard  and  pub- 
lic expectation  was  on  tiptoe.  All  was  silent  as  death,  when  the  young 
'squire,'  afterward  Judge  Charles  H.  Test,  arose  and  addressed  the  court: 
'If  the  court  please — . '  He  was  here  interrupted  by  Judge  Mitchell  from 
the  bench,  'Yes,  we  do  please.  Go  to  the  bottom  of  the  case,  young 
man;  the  people  have  come  in  to  hear  the  lawyers  plead.'     The  young 


116  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Squire,  encouraged  by  the  kind  response  of  the  judge,  proceeded  to  ad- 
dress the  jury  some  three  hours,  in  excited  eloquence,  upon  the  great 
provocation  his  client  had  received  to  induce  his  docile  nature  to  bound 
over  all  legal  barriers  and  take  the  prosecutor  by  the  nose.  All  eyes  were 
upon  him,  and  as  he  closed  Judge  Winchall  roared  out,  'Capital!  I  did 
not  think  it  was  in  him!'  The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  'not  guilty' 
amid  the  rapturous  applause  of  the  audience.  Court  adjourned,  and 
the  people  returned  home  to  tell  their  children  that  they  had  heard  the 
lawyers  'plead.'  " 

DIVISION  or  DEARBORN  AND  FORMATION  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

The  question  of  the  division  of  Dearborn  County  was  agitated  from 
an  early  period.'  Eising  Sun,  laid  out  in  1814,  was  ambitious  to  be  a 
county  seat  from  the  first,  and  worked  faithfully  and  earnestly  with  that 
end  in  view,  until  success  crowned  its  efforts.  As  early  as  1817,  before 
the  State  of  Indiana  was  a  year  old,  Col.  A.  C.  Pepper,  it  is  said,  went 
to  Corydon,  the  capital  of  the  State,  to  obtain  an  act  from  the  Legislature 
organizing  a  new  county  with  Rising  Sun  its  seat  of  justice,  but  he  was 
unsuccessful. 

Lawrenceburgh  was  the  seat  of  justice  of  Dearborn  County  from  the 
organization  of  the  county,  and  being  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
county  about  midway  between  the  northern  and  southern  boundaries,  was 
unwilling  to  have  the  shape  of  the  county  changed,  lest  the  county  seat 
should  be  removed.  The  friends  of  a  new  county,  finding  they  were  not 
strong  enough  to  effect  a  division  of  Dearborn,  resorted  to  strategy  and 
advocated  a  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  a  point  nearer  the  geographical 
center,  and  September  26,  1836,  Wilmington  became  the  seat  of  justice. 
Lawrenceburgh  having  lost  the  county  seat  was  now  not  so  much  opposed 
to  the  formation  of  a  new  county,  provided  the  county  seat  could  be 
brought  back  to  her. 

An  alliance  was  formed  between  the  friends  of  division  and  the  relo- 
cation of  the  county  seat,  and  in  1843  members  of  the  Legislature  were 
chosen  from  the  county  favorable  to  both  these  projects.  As  an  indica- 
tion of  the  unanimity  of  sentiment  on  the  part  of  the  voters  of  Randolph 
Township  it  may  be  stated  that  George  P.  Buell,  the  candidate  for  senator 
in  favor  of  division  and  relocation,  received  in  that  township  501  votes, 
while  Charles  Dashiell,  the  candidate  opposed  to  these  measures,  received 
five  votes. 

The  act  organizing  Ohio  County  and  removing  the  seat  of  justice  of 
Dearborn  County  from  Wilmington  to  Lawrenceburgh  pasi^ed  the  House 
by  a  vote  of  sixty-six  to  twenty-three,  December  31,  1843;  it  passed  the 
Senate,  January  3,  1844,  and  was  approved  by  the  governor  January  4, 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  117 

1844.     The  act  is  a  long  one,  but  on  aceount  of  its  importance  we  give 
its  most  important  sections: 

AN  ACT  TO    ORGANIZE   A  NEW  COUNTY    OUT    OF    THE    COUNTY    OP    DEARBORN,    AND 
RELOCATE  THE   COUNTY   SEAT  THEREOF.      APPROTED  JANUARY  4,  1844. 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Qeneral  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  March  next,  all  that  part  of  Dearborn  County, 
within  the  following  bounds,  to-wit:  Beginning  on  the  Ohio  River  on  the  section 
line  between  fractional  sections  number  twenty-five  and  thirty-six,  in  Town  four. 
Range  one  west,  thence  west  with  said  line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  section  num- 
ber thirty-two;  thence  south  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Section  number  five,  Town 
three,  Range  one;  thence  west  to  the  range  line  between  Range  one  and  Range 
two;  thence  south  to  the  line  dividing  Switzerland  and  Dearborn  Counties;  thence 
with  said  line  east  to  the  Ohio  River;  thence  up  said  river  to  the  place  of  begin- 
ning, shall  constitute  the  county  of  Ohio. 

Sec.  2.  That  Martin  R.  Green,  of  the  county  of  Switzerland,  Joseph  Bennet, 
of  the  county  of  Franklin,  and  James  Myers,  of  the  county  of  Ripley,  be  and 
they  are  hereby  constituted  and  appointed  commissioners  to  permanently  locate  the 
seat  of  justice  of  said  county.  The  commissioners,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall 
convene  in  the  town  of  Rising  Sun,  in  said  county  of  Ohio,  on  the  second  Monday 
in  April  next,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  a  majority  of  them  shall  agree. 

Sec.  5.  That  the  circuit  and  other  courts  of  said  county  of  Ohio  shall  be 
held  at  Rising  Sun  until  suitable  buildings  can  be  erected  at  the  county  seat,  after 
which  the  courts  shall  be  held  at  the  county  seat  of  said  county. 

Sec.  13.  That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  April  next  the  seat  of  justice  of 
the  county  of  Dearborn  shall  be,  and  the  same  is,  hereby  removed  and  permanently 
located  in  the  town  of  Lawrenceburgh,  in  said  county  of  Dearborn. 

Sec.  15.  That  all  officers  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  keep  their  said  offices  at  the 
seat  of  justice  in  said  county  of  Dearborn  shall  be,  and  are  hereby  required  to 
remove  and  keep  their  said  offices  at  the  town  of  Lawrenceburgh  on  or  before  the 
said  first  day  of  April  next;  that  from  and  after  the  said  first  day  of  April  (1844)  all 
public  business,  which  shall  be  required  by  law  to  be  transacted  at  the  seat  of  jus- 
tice in  said  county  of  Dearborn,  shall  be  performed  and  transacted  at  the  court 
house  in  said  town  of  Lawrenceburgh. 

Sec.  16.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  corporation  of  the  said  town  of  Lawrence- 
burgh to  give  bond  with  good  and  sufficient  security,  to  be  approved  of  by  the 
county  commissioners  of  said  county,  or  any  one  of  them,  in  a  penalty  of  any 
amount  lie  or  they  may  require,  not  exceeding,  however,  the  penalty  of  ten  thou- 
sand dollars,  payable  to  the  State  of  Indiana,  conditioned  that  the  corporation  of 
said  town  of  Lawrenceburgh  shall,  within  one  year  from  and  after  the  said  first  day 
of  April,  1844,  fit  up  and  repair  the  court  house  and  jail  in  said  town  of  Lawrence- 
burgh, and  build  a  clerk's  office,  recorder's  office,  and  auditor's  office  in  said  town, 
all  of  which  shall  be  equal  in  point  of  convenience  and  durability  to  those  already 
erected  and  built  in  the  town  of  Wilmington;  and  that  said  corporation  will  furnish 
suitable  rooms  for  holding  said  offices  in  said  county  at  the  expense  of  the  same, 
until  said  public  buildings  shall  be  erected  and  refitted  as  aforesaid. 

Sec.  17.     This  act  to  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

An  examination  of  the  first  section  of  the  foregoing  act  will  show 
that  the  original  boundaries  of  the  county  were  not  the  same  as  at  pres- 
ent.    Ohio  County  is  now  the  smallest  county  in  Indiana,  containing  a 


118  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

little  over  eighty-five  acd  one-half  square  miles.  As  originally  formed 
it  comprised  only  a  portion  of  Eandolph  Township,  and  contained  less 
than  eighteen  square  miles.  Probably  a  smaller  county  was  never 
formed  in  the  United  States.  It  remained  thus,  however,  only  for  one 
year  and  three  days.  January  7,  1845,  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  all 
of  Dearborn  County  lying  south  of  Laughery  Creek  was  attached  to  Ohio 
County,  leaving  both  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties  with  their  present 
boundaries. 

The  old  constitution  of  Indiana  provided  that  "  the  General  Assem- 
bly, when  they  lay  off  any  new  county,  shall  not  reduce  the  old  county  or 
counties  from  which  the  same  shall  be  taken  to  a  less  extent  than  400 
square  miles."  It  was  thought  that  Dearborn  had  been  reduced  to  400 
square  miles  of  territory,  and  that  this  would  effectually  bar  any  divis- 
ion of  the  county,  but  a  close  survey  made  at  a  time  of  low  water  in 
the  Ohio  showed  a  surplus.  Out  of  that  surplus  Ohio  County  was  first 
formed.  It  was  out  of  the  power  of  the  Legislature  in  the  act  creating 
the  new  county  to  have  made  it  any  larger.  As  the  constitution  did  not 
forbid  the  changing  of  the  boundaries  of  counties  already  established,  at 
the  next  session  Laughery  Creek  was  made  the  boundary  between  Ohio 
and  Dearborn. 

Thus  after  a  long  and  hard  fought  contest,  Rising  Sun  became  a  seat 
of  justice.  The  people  of  that  village  built  the  county  buildings  free  of 
expense  to  the  county.  They  obligated  themselves  that  if  Rising  Sun 
was  made  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  proposed  new  county,  the  cost  of 
erecting  the  public  buildings  should  not  fall  upon  the  tax  payers  of  the 
county.  The  commissioners  appointed  to  locate  the  seat  of  justice  met 
at  Rising  Sun  on  Monday,  April  8,  1844,  and  selected  the  site  upon  which 
the  public  buildings  now  stand,  the  ground  having  been  donated  for  that 
purpose  by  Col.  A.  C.  Pepper.  The  occasion  was  one  of  public  rejoic- 
ing, and  a  dinner  was  given  to  the  commissioners  at  which  a  number  of 
citizens  were  present. 

The  first  election  of  county  offices  in  Ohio  County  was  held  May  1, 
1844,  when  the  following  named  persons  were  chosen:  Probate  judge, 
Samuel  Jelly;  associate  judges,  Samuel  Fulton  and  Thomas  H.  Gilmore; 
county  clerk,  James  H.  Pepper;  recorder,  William  T.  Lambdin;  treas- 
urer, John  B.  Craft;  auditor,  Samuel  F.  Covington;  commissioners,  John 
Bennett,  William  H.  Powell  and  Morris  Merrill;  coroner,  Alexander  C. 
Campbell.  As  the  constitution  provided  for  the  election  of  coroner  at 
the  regular  election  held  in  August  and  at  no  other  time,  Mr.  Campbell 
was  not  legally  elected,  nor  was  ho  commissioned.  Another  special  elec- 
tion was  ordered  to  be  held  June  1,  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  an 
assessor    and  school  commissioner,  on  which  day  Martin  Stewart  was 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  119 

elected  assessor,  and  Nathan  R.  Steadman,  school  commissioner.  William 
Lanius  had  been  commissioned  sheriff  by  the  governor  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  the  county,  but  in  his  absence  Ohio  County  was  organized 
by  his  deputy,  Samuel  F.  Covington.  At  the  annual  election,  vv^hich  took 
place  on  the  first  Monday  of  August,  the  following  officers  were  chosen: 
Sheriff,  James  B.  Smith;  coroner,  Theophilus  Jones.  The  board  of 
commissioners  at  their  first  session  made  the  following  appointments: 
County  surveyor,  Henry  James;  inspector  of  elections,  Charles  W. 
Mountz. 

The  first  court  held  in  Ohio  County  was  the  probate  court,  which 
commenced  its  sitting  in  the  then  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church  on 
Second  Street,  Monday,  August  12,  1844.  Samuel  Jelley  was  probate 
judge,  and  James  H.  Pepper,  clerk. 

On  the  same  day  a  special  session  of  the  commissioners  was  held  in  the 
county  clerk's  office,  in  a  building  then  standing  on  the  east  corner  of 
Main  Street  and  the  alley  between  First  and  Market  Streets. 

The  first  term  of  the  circuit  court  was  held  in  the  church  already 
mentioned  on  Second  Street,  beginning  on  Monday,  December  4,  1844, 
and  continuing  two  days.  Miles  C.  Eggleston  was  president  judge,  and 
Samuel  Fulton  and  Thomas  H.  Gilmore,  associate  judges;  John  Dumont, 
prosecuting  attorney;  James  H.  Pepper,  clerk,  and  James  B.  Smith, 
sheriff. 

DEAKBOKN    COUNTY    BUILDINGS. 

First  Jail. — The  first  jail  of  the  county,  erected  in  1804,  was  built 
of  logs,  and  was  located  on  the  public  square.  In  1806  William  Cook 
was  the  jailor,  and  resided  in  the  jail  building. 

First  Court  House. — The  first  court  house  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
present  temple  of  justice,  and  was  built  in  1810.  It  was  a  two-story 
brick  building,  the  court  room  being  on  the  ground  floor,  with  jury  room 
above.     This  building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  March  5,  1826. 

Second  Court  House. — The  interior  only  of  the  first  court  house  hav- 
ing been  consumed  by  fire,  the  second  building,  for  the  use  of  the  courts, 
was  constructed  on  the  same  foundation  and  with  the  same  walls.  In 
May,  1827,  the  county  commissioners  appointed  Jesse  Hunt,  James  W. 
Hunter  and  George  H.  Dunn  commissioners  to  superintend  the  construc- 
tion of  the  building,  which  it  appears  was  not  ready  for  occupancy  until 
the  fall  or  winter  of  1828. 

Second  Jail. — The  second  county  prison  must  have  been  built  at  the 
same  time  that  the  second  court  house  was  constructed,  although  there  is 
no  separate  mention  made  of  it  in  the  commissioners'  proceedings.  The 
men  named  above  as  commissioners  appointed  to  superintend  the  erec- 
tion of  the  second  court  house  were  to  superintend  the  erection  of  two 


120  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

public  buildings.  No  description  of  the  building  is  given  or  mention 
made  of  its  builders  in  the  records  that  we  were  able  to  find.  In  the 
State  Gazetteer  of  1833  it  is  referred  to  as  a  stone  jail.  It  was  two 
stories  high,  and  occupied  a  position  nearly  on  the  site  of  the  present 
jail. 

Third  Court  House. — On  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Law- 
renceburgh  to  Wilmington,  in  1835,  the  public  buildings — a  court  house 
and  jail — were  erected  in  that  village  by  the  citizens  thereof  and  vicinity 
at  a  cost  of  about  $4,000.  The  court  house,  still  standing,  is  a  two-story 
brick,  in  size  about  42x48  feet,  and  is  the  property  of  the  lodge  of 
Masons  of  that  village. 

Third  Jail. — The  third  jail,  as  stated  above,  was  erected  at  Wilming- 
ton. It  was  a  substantial  building,  and  stood  upon  the  public  square; 
both  it  and  court  house  were  donations,  and  were  accepted  by  the 
county  commissioners,  March  9,  1836.  The  jail  was  occupied  only  a 
few  years  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Fourth  Jail.— In  March,  1840,  a  contract  was  let,  for  the  erection  of 
the  second  jail  at  Wilmington,  by  the  county  commissioners  to  Timothy 
Kimball  for  $1,700.  At  the  final  settlement  made  with  Mr.  Kimball, 
he  was  allowed  $1,939.77. 

Fifth  Jail.  — The  fifth  county  prison  was  erected  on  the  public  square 
at  Lawrenceburgh  in  1848,  the  contract  having  been  let  to  Timothy 
Kimball  in  December,  1847,  for  $2,600.  In  August,  1848,  the  build- 
ing was  received  and  accepted  by  the  commissioners,  at  which  time  they 
allowed  Mr.  Kimball  $210  extra  "  for  the  building  of  a  wall  above  the 
high  water  mark  of  1832." 

Sixth  Jail  and  Sheriff's  Residence. — The  sixth  and  present  jail  was 
built  in  1858-59.  The  sheriff's  residence — a  two-story  brick  building — 
fronts  on  High  Street,  with  jail  to  the  rear,  and  stands  in  the  south  cor- 
ner of  the  public  square.  The  work  was  let  by  departments  to  various 
persons,  and  cost  in  round  number.s  $8,600. 

Fourth  Qdurt  House. — The  order  for  the  erection  of  the  present 
magnificent/court  house  of  Dearborn  County  was  passed  by  the  board  of 
county  commissioners,  March  16,  1870,  and  George  Kyle,  of  Vevay,  in 
Switzerland  County,  Ind. ,  was  selected  as  architect,  April  13,  1870,  to 
prepare  plans  and  specifications,  and  June  15,  1870,  the  plans  were  sub- 
mitted by  the  architect  and  adopted  by  the  board.  An  order  was  passed 
for  the  removal  of  the  old  building,  and  the  work  of  demolition 
commenced  June  16,  1870,  the  board  having  accepted  the  proposition  of 
the  commou  council  of  the  city  of  Lawrenceburgh,  tendering  the  use  of 
Odd  Fellows'  Hall  free  of  charge  for  the  use  of  a  court  house  during  the 
erection  of  the  new  building,  the  same  was  designated  as  the  place  of 
holding  courts. 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  121 

Proposals  for  the  erection  of  this  building  were  advertised  to  be 
received  until  July  15,  and  July  16,  1870,  the  contract  was  awarded 
for  the  cut  stonewoi'k  to  Francis  L.  Farman,  of  Indianapolis,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  work  to  T.  J.  Shannon,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  and  July 
17,  the  work  of  excavation  was  commenced. 

The  stone  used  in  the  construction  of  the  building  was  quarried  at 
Elliottsville,  Monroe  Co.,  Ind. ,  and  is  a  pearl-gray  limestone  of  fine 
grain,  giving  forth  a  distiact,  ringing,  metallic  sound,  when  struck  by 
by  another  hard  substance.  The  style  of  architecture  is  the  Corinthian — 
having  a  portico  in  front  of  the  Corinthian  order;  the  flank  and  rear  are 
also  embeliahed  by  projections  and  pediments  upon  which  the  same  order 
is  developed. 

The  dimensions  are  seventy-three  feet  three  inches  fronting  on  High 
Street,  and  running  back  one  hundred  and  one  feet  three  inches,  exclusive 
of  projections.  The  portico  is  thirteen  feet  three  inches  by  forty-six  feet 
eight  inches.  The  perpendicular  height  from  the  base  line  to  the 
comb  of  the  roof  is  sixty-seven  feet.  The  building  was  completed  at  a 
cost  of  about  $100,000  and  stands  to-day  one  of  the  finest  court  houses 
in  Indiana. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  present  court  house  in  Lawrenceburgh  was 
laid  with  imposing  ceremonies  April,  13,  1871  in  the  presence  of  fully 
5,000  spectators.  The  various  orders  of  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  Druids, 
Good  Templars  and  other  benevolent  and  religious  societies  of  the  county 
were  fully  represented.  Louis  Jordan,  Esq.,  of  Indianapolis,  was  the 
orator  of  the  occasion.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  articles  deposited 
in  the  corner-stone: 

Histories  of  Masonic  Lodges — Wilmington  Lodge  No.  158;  Law- 
renceburgh Chapter;  Lawrenceburgh  Lodge;  Burns  Lodge  No.  55;  Har- 
rison Lodge  No.  17;  Aurora  Lodge  No.  51;  Hansellman  Commandeiy, 
of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Histories  of  Odd  Fellows — Advance  Lodge;  Allemania  Lodge  No. 
334,  of  Aurora;  Teutonia  Lodge  No.  289,  of  Lawrenceburgh;  Bethlehem 
Encampment  No.  3,  of  Aurora;  Union  Lodge  No.  8,  of  Lawrenceburgh; 
Chosen  Friends  Lodge    No.  13,  of  Aurora. 

Histories  of  Druids — Aurora  Grove;  Grand  Grove  of  Indiana;  Grand 
Grove  of  the  United  States;  Columbia  and  Teutonia  Chapters  No.  2,  of 
Lawrenceburgh;  Order  of  Harugari    No.  223,  of  Lawrenceburgh. 

Histories  of  Keligious  Societies — American  Protestant  Association,  of 
Lawrenceburgh;  St.  Lawrence  Roman  Catholic  Aid  Society,  of  Lawrence- 
burgh; Presbyterian  Church  of  Lawrenceburgh;  Lawrenceburgh  Baptist 
Church  of  Christ;  German  Evangelical  Zion's  Church,  of  Walnut 
Street,  Lawrenceburgh;  Aid  Society  to  Indigent  Sick  of  G.  E.  Z. 
Church,  of  Lawrenceburgh.  7 


122  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Histories  of  Corporations,  Associations,  etc.  — Deutschen  Bau  Verein, 
No.  1,  of  Lawrenceburgh;  Lawrenceburgb  Liedertafel;  City  of  Aurora; 
City  of  Lawrenceburgb;  Dearborn  County  Agricultural  Society;  Dear- 
born County;  First  National  Bank,  of  Lawrenceburgb;  Cocbran  Forum; 
Dearborn  County  Medical  Society. 

Publications  —  Democratic  Register,  six  copies,  including  dates 
of  April  7  and  14,  1871;  Lawrenceburgb  Press,  April  13,  1871; 
Dearborn  Independent,  April  13,  1871;  Rising  Sun  Recorder,  April  8, 
1871;  Political  Beacon,  October  7,  1837;  Cbillicothe  Advertiser,  1850; 
Dearborn  Democrat,  1838,  and  otber  old  papers  relating  to  Dearborn 
County,  contributed  by  Dr.  George  Sutton,  of  Aurora;  Milliner's  Pam- 
phlet of  Fashion  Plates,  for  April,  1871,  deposited  by  Mrs.  Margaret 
Beggs,  of  Lawrenceburgb. 

Miscellaneous — Samples  of  United  States  Postage  Stamps  in  use 
in  1871;  25  cent  note  of  Petersburgb,  Ky.,  Milling  Company,  1817; 
$1  note  of  second  municipality  of  New  Orleans,  1839;  One  one- 
ninth  of  $1  continental  currency,  issued  by  the  colony  of  Maryland, 
1775;  1  cent  coin,  1786;  1  cent  coin,  1777;  L  C.  &  L.  R.  R.  switch 
key,  deposited  by  Peter  Martenstein;  photograph  of  commission 
of  Azel  Fitch,  as  captain  in  Colonial  Army,  dated  March  24,  1760, 
issued  by  Thomas  Fitch,  captain  general  and  governor  of  the  colony  of 
Connecticut,  deposited  by  D.  W.  C.  Fitch;  samples  of  copper  and  silver 
coins  of  United  States,  1871 ;  biographical  sketch  of  the  late  J.  H. 
Brower,  M.  D. 

The  Asylum  for  the  Poor. — About  twelve  miles  northwest  of  Law- 
renceburgb is  located  the  County  Infirmary.  The  building  is  in  crucial 
form,  104  feet  in  width  and  150  feet  in  length,  and  two-stories  high, 
having  sixty-four  rooms.  The  building  is  neat  and  substantial,  well 
arranged  for  the  convenience  of  the  inmates,  is  heated  by  steam, 
and  makes  a  pleasant  home  for  the  unfortunate  of  the  county.  Its 
kitchen  and  dining  room  arrangements,  together  with  the  offices  and 
airy  sitting  rooms,  give  it  a  home  like  appearance  and  it  may  be  truly 
said  that  the  county  has  secured  a  valuable  home  for  those  depending  for 
their  support  upon  the  county.  The  building  was  completed  in  the  fall 
of  1882,  costing  $21,754.  The  original  contract  price  was  $15,840,  to 
which  was  added  $500  for  extras.  In  1881  the  farm  comprised  about 
300  acres  of  land,  the  proceeds  of  which  for  the  year  1880  amounted  to 
about  $2,000.  The  architect  of  the  building  was  Capt.  Alex  Pattison, 
and  the  contractor  and  builder  was  Seth  Piatt,  both  of  Dearborn  County. 
At  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  building,  the  asylum  and  farm 
were  under  the  management  of  Thomas  Duncan,  who  had  had  charge 
of   it  for  several  years.     The  inmates  then  numbered  forty. 


CIVIL  ORGANIZATION.  123 

The  asylum  was  first  established  in  1835,  in  July  of  which  year  the 
contract  was  let  to  William  Brown  for  the  carpenter  work  for  $920. 
The  stone  and  mason  work  was  to  cost  $650. 

About  fifty  acres  of  ground  had  been  purchased  in  the  spring  of  1833 
of  Phoebe  Pate,  lying  in  Section  10,  Township  5,  Range  2,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  erecting  an  asylum.  The  amount  paid  for  it  was  $220.  That 
farm  was  sold  in  1883,  for  $2,600  and  the  present  farm  purchased  in  the 
spring  of  the  same  year  of  C.  F.  Wood  for  $3,840. 

COUNTY  BUILDINGS  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

The  court  house  square  on  which  the  temple  of  justice  and  jail  of 
Ohio  County  are  located  is  situated  well  up  in  the  city  from  the  river, 
and  is  bounded  by  Mulberry  Street,  Broad  Street,  Main  Street  and  an 
alley.  The  ground  was  donated  to  the  county  by  Col.  Abel  C.  Pepper, 
the  deed  of  conveyance  being  made  by  Col.  Pepper  and  wife  to  the 
county  commissioners,  with  the  provision  that  should  the  town  of  Rising 
Sun  cease  to  be  a  county  seat,  the  lot  should  become  the  property  of  the 
president  and  trustees  of  Rising  Sun.  This  deed  of  conveyance  bears 
date  of  December  11,  1845. 

The  Court  House. — This,  a  substantial  two-story  brick  building, 
stands  on  the  center  part  of  the  square  facing  Main  Street,  amid  a 
grove  of  beautiful  shade  trees;  the  building  is  fifty  feet  deep,  with  a 
portico  of  twelve  feet  in  front  supported  by  large  round  pillars, 
making  in  all  60x40  feet  wide.  The  first  story  is  arranged  for  ofiices 
and  jury  rooms,  and  is  nine  feet  high;  the  court  room  is  on  the  second 
floor.  The  building  stands  on  the  highest  ground  in  the  corporation, 
and  was  erected  in  1845.          * 

F'irst  Jail. — The  first  county  prison  was  a  wood  structure  of  one 
apartment  located  on  the  square  above  described,  and  was  received  and 
accepted  by  the  county  commissioners,  and  the  key  given  to  the  sherifif 
on  the  24th  of  November,  1846. 

Second  Jail. — This  consisted  of  an  addition  of  one  apartment  (con- 
structed of  wood,  12x16  feet  in  size),  to  the  old  jail,  the  two  wooden 
apartments  being  enclosed  by  a  brick  wall  twelve  inches  thick.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1848,  the  board  of  county  commissioners  accepted  the  proposition  of 
George  G.  Brown  and  Washington  H.  Hall  to  build  this  jail  for  $900, 
to  be  completed  on  or  before  June  1,  1849.  After  twenty  years'  service 
this  prison  passed  into  history  with  this  comment  from  the  grand  Jury 
made  in  August,  1869:  "Is  utterly  insuflficient  for  the  safe  keeping  of  pris- 
oners, and  is  deficient  in  every  requisite  ordinarily  deemed  to  be 
required  for  the  health  and  comfort  of  human  beings.  As  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  same  has  been  kept  they  believe  that  the  jailer  has  per- 


124  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

formed  his  duties  in  that  regard  as  well  as  circumstances  would  permit. 
They  would  suggest  that  the  jail  building  might  possibly  be  used  for 
stabling  purposes,  but  all  of  the  jury  being  farmers  and  having  a  kindly 
feeling  for  animals  of  the  horse  kind,  would  not  recommend  that  it  be 
put  to  that  use. " 

Third  Jail  and  Sheriff^s  Residence. — The  two-story  substantial  brick 
residence  of  the  sheriif,  and  jail,  is  located  in  the  western  corner  of  the 
court  house  square,  facing  Mulberry  Street,  and  was  erected  in  1870  at 
a  cost  in  round  numbers  of  $5,000;  the  contract  being  let  by  the 
county  commissioners  at  a  special  session  held  in  February,  1870,  to 
John  M.  Reister  and  to  Charles  Williams  and  Oliver  English. 

The  Asylum  for  the  Poor. — In  1853  steps  were  taken  by  the  county 
commissioners  for  the  establishment  in  the  county  of  an  asylum  for  the 
poor,  and  September  9  of  that  year  they  bought  of  F.  L.  and  S.  C.  Gas- 
kill  fifty  acres  of  land  in  Section  31,  Township  4,  Range  1,  for  which 
they  paid  $1,700;  the  deed  of  conveyance,  however,  was  not  made  until 
March  8,  1854.  Suitable  buildings  were  soon  erected,  and  in  March, 
1854,  John  Wallace  was  appointed  the  first  superintendent  of  the  insti- 
tution at  a  salary  of  |200  for  the  year.  In  September,  1881,  two  tracts 
of  land  were  added  to  the  farm,  one  of  nineteen  acres  oflf  of  the  O'Neal 
place,  and  the  other  of  thirty- three  acres  off  of  the  S.  H.  Stewart  place, 
for  which  were  paid  $570  and  $990  respectively.  Among  the  superin- 
tendents have  been  Stephen  Booth,  G.  W.  Sink,  Lewis  Lotton,  William 
Buchanan,  Ed  E.  Lyon,  Erastus  Downey,  N.  Leggitt.  The  latter  died 
in  the  summer  of  1882,  while  in  office,  and  his  unexpired  time  was 
served  out  by  Jacob  Cooper,  who  that  fall  was  appointed  for  a  term  of 
five  years.  Mr.  Cooper  has  managed  the  institution  to  the  entire  satis- 
faction of  the  inmates  and  the  county  in  general. 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS.  125 


CHAPTEK   VII. 

INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 

First  Roads— Road  from  Vincennesto  Cincinnati— Stage  Coaches- 
Turnpikes— The  Whitewater  Valley  Canal— Railroads— Ohio 
River  Navigation  — Flat-boats— Keel-boats— First  Steamboats. 

THE  first  roads  were  mere  traces  or  paths  for  horses.  After. the  first 
public  highways  were  established  they  remained  for  years  little 
more  than  mere  tracks  through  the  woods  cleared  of  timber,  without 
bridges,  and,  in  the  fresh  conditioo  of  the  ^soil,  almost  impassable  in 
the  wet  season.  Wagoning,  however,  was  an  important  business  before 
the  construction  of  cauals  and  railroads. 

The  first  effort  to  establish  a  permanent  road  through  either  Dearborn 
or  Ohio  Counties,  of  which  we  have  any  account,  was  in  1799,  when 
Capt.  Ephraim  Kibbey,  then  of  Cincinnati,  surveyed  the  route  for  a  road 
from  Vincennes  to  Cincinnati.  The  route  is  not  given,  but  it  is  stated 
that  he  found  the  distance  from  Vincennes  to  the  Great  Miami  to  be  155 
miles  and  forty-eight  poles.  The  Western  Spy,  published  in  Cincinnati, 
July  23,  1799,  contained  the  following:  "Capt.  E.  Kibbey,  who,  some  time 
since,  undertook  to  cut  a  road  from  Fort  Vincennes  to  this  place,  returned 
on  Monday  reduced  to  a  perfect  skeleton.  He  had  cut  the  road  seventy 
miles,  when,  by  some  means,  he.  was  separated  from  his  men.  After 
hunting  them  some  days  without  success,  he  steered  his  course  this  way. 
He  has  undergone  great  hardships,  and  was  obliged  to  subsist  on  roots, 
etc.,  which  he  picked  up  in  the  woods." 

About  1820  the  road  from  Cincinnati  to  Vincennes  was  described  in 
almanacs  of  that  date  as  follows:  "From  Cincinnati  to  Vincennes — 
Burlington,  15  milesj  Rising  Sun,  10;  Judge  Cotton's,  20;  Madison,  20; 
New  Lexington,  17;  Salem,  32;  French  Lick,  34;  East  Fork  White 
River  (Shoat's),  17;  North  Fork  White  River  (Hawkins')  20;  Vincennes, 
16;  total,  201  miles." 

As  early  as  1820  commissioners  were  appointed  to  lay  out  "State 
roads."  An  important  State  road  was  laid  out  from  Lawrenceburgh 
through  Brookville,  by  way  of  Southgate  and  Tanner's  Creek,  Conners- 
ville,  Waterloo,  Ceutreville  and  Winchester.  It  was  long  familiarly 
known  as  the  Connersville  State  road. 


126  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUNTIES. 

^  Stage  coaches  began  to  be  important  means  of  carrying  passengers 
anci  mails  over  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  Indiana  between  1825  and 
1830.  In  1831  a  post-coach  was  run  between  Cincinnati  and  Lawrence- 
burgh,  via  Elizabethtown  and  Cleves.  Leaving  Lawrenceburgh  Mon- 
days, Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  at  6  A.  M.,  it  arrived  at  Cincinnati  at 
12  noon;  and  leaving  Cincinnati  on  Tuesdays,  Thursdays  and  Saturdays, 
at  6  A.  M.,  it  arrived  at  Lawenceburgh  at  noon.  The  coach  connected 
at  Lawrenceburgh  with  the  Indianapolis  stage  on  Tuesdays.  The  pro- 
prietor informed  the  public  that  he  had  purchased  a  new  and  elegant 
four-horse  coach,  of  sufficient  capacity  to  accommodate  eight  passengers, 
and  that  he  intended  to  superintend  the  driving  in  person.  In  1838  the 
stage  route  from  Indianapolis  to  Cincinnati,  via  Lawrenceburgh  and 
Napoleon,  was  through  New  Bethel,  Wrightsdale,  Brandywine,  Shelby- 
ville,  Middletown,  St.  Omer,  Greensburg,  Napoleon,  Laughery,  Man- 
chester, Lawrenceburgh,  Elizabethtown  and  Cheviot. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1835,  there  were  only  two  macadamized 
roads  leading  into  Cincinnati,  one  of  which  was  twelve,  and  the  other 
sixteen  miles  long.  Several  years  elapsed  before  there  were  any  turn- 
pikes in  Dearborn  County.  In  1840,  an  editorial  article  in  the  Beacon, 
published  at  Lawrenceburgh,  urged  the  necessity  of  improving  the  roads 
of  Dearborn  County,  which  then  included  Ohio  County.  "Nothing," 
wrote  the  editor,  "will  aid  so  much  in  bringing  capital  and  business  to 
the  place  as  good  roads,  and  in  this  particular  our  county  is  lamentably 
deficient.  It  is  idle  to  wait  for  the  State  or  the  county  to  do  anything; 
this  township  should  take  the  lead.  Nearly  one-third  of  the  whole 
wealth  of  the  county  is  in  this  township,  and  there  are  not  more  than 
twenty  or  twenty-five  miles  of  leading  roads  in  it.  That  it  would  take 
but  a  short  time  to  turnpike  the  whole  of  them,  by  a  judicious  and  equi- 
table system,  must  be  evident,  and  such  an  example  would  unquestiona- 
bly be  followed  by  the  other  large  townships,  and  most  of  the  leading 
roads  would  be  made  good." 

Aurora,  in  its  early  history,  labored  under  great  disadvantages,  on 
account  of  the  expense  and  difficulty  of  crossing  the  different  streams 
emptying  into  the  Ohio  above  and  below  that  place.  Wilmington  mo- 
nopolized most  of  the  business  in  that  region.  There  was  little  trade 
brought  to  Aurora  by  the  river  road.  In  1836,  George  W.  Lane  built  a 
bridge  across  the  mouth  of  Hogan  Creek,  which  opened  the  way  of  com- 
munication through  Aurora  to  Lawrenceburgh.  The  road  up  the  valley 
of  South  Hogan  Creek  was  relocated,  and  a  bridge  was  built  across 
South  Hogan  Creek,  on  the  road  from  Aurora  to  AVilmington.  The  next 
important  step  for  the  benefit  of  Aurora  was  the  relocating  the  road  from 
Aurora  to  Manchester,  to  go  up  the  hill  where  there  was  an   easy  grade 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS.  127 

obtained,  instead  of  following  the  ridge  to  a  point  just  above  Cheek's 
house. 

The  constant  use  of  these  dirt  roads,  as  business  began  to  increase  at 
Aurora,  made  them  almost  impassable  during  the  winter  and  spring  of 
the  year,  which  made  it  necessary  that  the  main  roads  to  Aurora  should 
be  made  turnpikes.  At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1847,  Mr.  Lane 
being  a  member,  a  charter  was  obtained  authorizing  a  company  to  build 
a  turnpike  road  from  Aurora  to  Dillsborough,  and  Hart' a  Mill  in  Ripley 
County.  Also  a  charter  for  the  building  of  a  turnpike  from  Aurora  to 
Moore's  Hill  by  way  of  Wilmington.  These  roads  were  soon  after  con- 
structed, and  added  greatly  to  the  commercial  trade  of  Aurora. 

About  this  time  a  law  was  passed  authorizing  the  trustees  of  Canton 
Township  to  improve  the  roads  in  that  township,  and  they  graded  and 
macadamized  the  road  up  the  hill  toward  Manchester,  and  the  road  down 
the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Laughery  Creek. 

The  third  improvement  was  made  by  the  township  (Center)  in  chang- 
ing the  road  to  Lawrenceburgh,  and  in  conjunction  with  Lawrenceburgh 
Township  building  the  macadamized  road  now  in  use. 

The  next  important  turnpike  constructed  was  from  Lawrenceburgh  to 
Manchester.  The  company  for  the  construction  of  this  road  was  char- 
tered February  18,  1840,  and  known  as  the  Lawrenceburgh  &  Napo- 
leon Turnpike  Company,  but  the  road  was  never  built  to  Napoleon.  The 
company  was  organized  in  February,  1841,  and  books  for  the  subscrip- 
tion of  stock  were  opened  the  following  month. 

The  townships  of  Lawrencebm-gh  and  Miller  projected  and  built  the 
turnpike  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  the  State  line  near  Elizabethtown. 

The  Aurora  &  Johnston's  Mill  Turnpike,  eight  miles  in  length,  was 
built  by  a  stock  company. 

About  the  year  1850  the  system  of  township  roads  was  attracting 
much  attention.  Four  miles  of  the  Tanner's  Creek  Turnpike  were 
announced  as  completed  in  May,  1851. 

There  was  much  improvement  made  in  the  roads  in  three  years  from 
1867  to  1870. 

April  1,  1869,  it  was  announced  that  subscription  books  were  opened 
and  canvassing  commenced  for  the  construction  of  the  Rising  Sun  & 
Laughery  Turnpike;  the  amount  of  stock  solicited  was  $20,000,  in  shares 
of  $25. 

In  June,  1868,  the  directors  of  the  Rising  Sun  &  Milton  Turnpike 
Company  contracted  for  the  construction  of  the  road  at  a  cost  of 
$1,375.89  per  mile.  Four  miles  were  completed  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year. 

May  28,  1870,  the  contract  for  the  construction  of  the  North  Landing 


128  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

&  Quercus  Grove  Turnpike,  was  let  at  an  average  rate  of  $3,100  per 
mile. 

The  Kising  Sun  &  North  Landing  Turnpike  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  September,  1870. 

June  4,  1878,  the  wood  and  iron  bridge  across  Laughery  Creek  on 
the  road  from  Aurora  to  Rising  Sun  fell  into  the  creek.  It  had  been 
built  in  1869.  A  new  bridge  at  this  place  was  completed  in  the  autumn 
of  1879,  at  a  cost  of  $17,458,  Ohio  County  paying  the  sum  of  $2,931. 

WHITEWATER  VALLEY  CANAL. 

One  of  the  early  demands  of  the  people  of  a  new  country  is  for  means 
of  intercommunication.  So  soon  as  the  Western  country  began  to  be  set- 
tled there  began  the  cry  for  national  aid  in  opening  up  all  sorts  of  aven- 
ues for  ingress  and  egress  to  and  from  the  frontier  lands.  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  had  given  great  attention  to  the  subject  of  canals, 
and  Indiana  early  in  its  history  turned  its  attention  to  the  same  subject. 

The  project  of  a  canal  thi-ough  the  Whitewater  Valley  was  agitated 
as  early  as  1822  or  1823,  by  Alvin  Joselyn,  then  connected  with  the 
Brookville  press;  subsequently  there  was  held  at  Harrison,  Ohio,  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  from  Franklin,  Wayne,  Union,  Randolph,  Fayette 
and  Dearborn  Counties.  A  survey  was  soon  made  under  the  supervision 
of  Col.  Shriver's  Brigade  of  United  States  Engineers.  Col.  Shriver 
died  before  the  survey  was  completed,  and  after  his  death  the  work  was 
continued  by  Col.  Stansbury,  who  began  at  the  mouth  of  Garrison's 
Creek,  but  discontinued  his  labor  on  the  approach  of  winter. 

Nothing  further  seems  to  have  been  done  until  1834,  when  from  the 
Connersville  Watchman  it  appears  that  "a  corps  of  engineers  are  survey- 
ing the  route  of  the  contemplated  canal  down  the  valley  of  the  White- 
water." / 

In  January,  1836,  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  the 
celebrated  act  to  provide  for  a  general  system  of  internal  improvements 
under  which  were  commenced  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  the  Madison 
&  Indianapolis  Railroad,  Indiana  Central  Canal  and  the  Whitewater 
Valley  Canal.  The  last  named  work  was  to  extend  from  Hagerstown  to 
Lawrenceburgh.  The  State  of  Ohio,  or  a  company  chartered  by  the  State? 
afterward  constructed  a  branch  from  Harrison,  Ohio,  to  Cincinnati. 

The  survey  and  location  of  the  Whitewater  Valley  Canal  were  com- 
pleted and  the  contracts  for  building  the  various  sections  were  let  at 
Brookville,  September  13,1836,  which  event  was  there  the  occasion  of  a 
celebration,  and  that  day  made  a  general  gala  day.  The  orator  on  the 
occasion  was  Hon.  David  Wallace.  Gov.  Noble,  ex-Gov.  James  B.  Ray, 
Dr.  Drake,  of  Cincinnati,  and  George  H.  Dunn,  Esq.,  of  Lawrenceburgh, 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS.  129 

were  chosen  as  representative  characters  to  perform  the  ceremony  of 
"breaking  ground"  for  the  new  canal. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  State,  the  canal  was  completed  from  the 
Ohio  River  to  Brookville,  as  well  as  about  half  the  work  from  Brook- 
ville  to  Cambridge  City.  The  cost  of  work  to  Brookville  was  $664,665. 
At  this  time  (1839)  the  State  found  itself  in  debt  some  $14,000,000,  and 
was  compelled  to  abandon  all  public  works. 

The  first  boat  to  reach  Brookville  was  the  "Ben  Franklin."  This  was 
Saturday,  June  8,  1839.  The  citizens  gave  vent  to  their  joy  by  the 
firing  of  cannon  and  other  demonstrations. 

At  the  session  of  1841-42  the  Legislature  chartered  the  Whitewater 
Valley  Company  with  a  capital  stock  of  $400,000.  In  October,  1843, 
the  canal  was  extended  from  Brookville  fifteen  miles  to  Laurel;  to  Con- 
nersville,  twelve  miles  further,  in  June,  1845;  and  in  October,  the 
same  year,  it  was  completed  to  Cambridge  City,  the  entire  cost  to  the 
company  being  $473,000. 

The  first  boat  that  arrived  at  Connersville  was  in  the  fall  of  1845. 
It  was  called  the  "Patriot,"  and  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Gayle  Ford. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1847,  a  tremendous  freshet  damaged  the 
canal  so  badly  that  it  cost  upward  of  $100,000  to  repair  it;  by  the  flood 
was  carried  off  the  aqueduct  across  Symon's  Creek,  near  Cambridge,  and 
that  across  the  West  Fork  of  Whitewater,  at  Laurel,  besides  washing 
immense  channels  around  the  feeder  dams  at  Cambridge,  Connersville, 
Laurel,  Brookville,  the  one  four  miles  below,  and  that  at  Harrison,  and 
also  doing  much  damage  along  the  whole  line.  A  second  flood  in  No- 
vember, 1848,  only  a  few  weeks  after  repairs  had  been  completed,  dam- 
aged it  to  the  amount  of  $80,000.  It  was,  however,  again  repaired  and 
operated,  to  some  extent,  for  several  years,  until  superseded  by  rail- 
roads, one  the  Whitewater  Valley  Eailroad,  constructed  along  the  tow- 
path,  and  part  of  the  way  in  the  bed  of  the  canal,  which  had  been  pre- 
viously placed  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  and  the  right-of-way  trans- 
ferred to  the  railroad  company  for  that  purpose. 

The  canal  constructed  by  the  company  extended  north  only  to  Cam- 
bridge City.  (The  length  of  the  canal  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  Cam- 
bridge City  was  seventy  miles.)  Subsequently,  in  or  about  the  year 
1846,  the  Hagerstown  Canal  Company  was  organized  and  the  canal  com- 
pleted to  that  place  in  1847.  But  a  small  number  of  boats,  however, 
ever  reached  that  place,  and  the  canal  soon  fell  into  disuse,  except  as  a 
source  of  water-power. 

RAILKOADS. 

As  early  as  1834-35,  when  steam- car  ti-ansportation  was  in  its  in- 
fancy and  before  a  single  mile  of  railroad  had  been  constructed  in  Indi- 


130  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

ana,  George  H.  Dunn  was  the  advocate  of  a  railroad  from  Lawrence- 
burgh  to  Indianapolis.  The  project  then  failed.  In  1847,  the  Legisla- 
ture chartered  a  company  of  which  Judge  Dunn  was  the  first  president, 
authorized  to  construct  a  railroad  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  Rushville, 
but  the  president  failed  to  meet  with  the  encouragement  he  had  hoped 
for  in  Rush  County.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  northwest. 
Finally  the  friends  of  a  railroad'settled  down  upon  the  old  project  of  a 
road  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  Indianapolis.  The  contract  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  first  division  of  this  road — twenty  miles  up  the  Tanner 
Creek  valley — was  let  in  July  or  August,  1849;  the  second  division 
reaching  to  Greensburgh  a  few  months  later,  and  the  third  division, 
from  Greensburgh  to  Indianapolis,  in  1851.  In  September,  1853,  the 
whole  line,  except  five  miles  between  Greensburgh  and  Shelbyville,  was 
reported  completed,  and  the  cars  running  regularly  thereon. 

The  history  of  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad  involves  legislation  of 
three  States — Indiana,  Ohio  and  Illinois.  The  first  act  of  incorporation 
of  this  road  was  granted  by  Indiana,  February  14,  1848,  incorporating 
the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad  Company  and  authorizing  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railroad  on  the  most  practicable  route  "between  Lawrenceburgh 
on  the  Ohio  River,  and  Vincennes  on  the  Wabash  River,  and  extending 
eastwardly  to  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  westwardly  through  the 
State  of  Illinois  to  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  in  the  State  of  Missouri." 
March  15,  1849,  the  State  of  Ohio  recognized  the  corporate  powers 
granted  by  Indiana,  and  authorized  the  extension  of  the  road  to  Cincin- 
nati. February  12,  1851,  the  State  of  Illinois  authorized  the  com- 
pany to  construct  a  railroad  through  that  State.  In  1854  there  were 
completed  twenty-nine  miles  of  the  road;  in  1855,  233  miles;  and  in 
1857  the  whole  line  of  337  miles  of  six  feet  guage  was  open  for  traffic. 

The  articles  of  association  of  the  Whitewater  Valley  Railroad  Company 
were  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  State,  June  8,  1865.  In  1866  there  were 
constructed  eighteen  miles  of  the  road;  in  1867,  fifty-four  miles;  and  in 
1868  the  entire  line  of  sixty-two  miles  was  completed. 

In  Dearborn  County  there  are  forty-nine  miles  of  main  track  of  rail 
road  divided  among  three  companies  as  follows:  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis, 
St.  Louis  &  Chicago  (including  the  Lawrenceburgh  branch  of  two  and 
one-half  miles),  twenty-two;  the  Ohio  &  jMississippi,  twenty-one,  and  the 
Whitewater,  six.  The  total  value  of  railroad  property  in  the  county,  as 
assessed  by  the  State  board  of  equalization  in  1883,  was  $550,562.  There 
is  no  railroad  in  Ohio  County. 

OHIO    RIVER    NAVIGATION. 

The  navigation  of  the  Ohio  has  always  been  of  vast  importance  to  the 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS.  181 

counties  bordering  upon  it.  The  first  boats  employed  upon  its  waters 
were  canoes  and  flat-boats,  the  latter  made  of  stout  green  oak  timber.  In 
the  early  history  of  the  country  the  broad  and  gentle  surface  of  the  Ohio, 
called  the  beautiful  river,  often  presented  an  animated  and  joyous  spec- 
tacle, with  its  large  and  commodious  boats  of  emigrants  quietly  floating 
down  the -stream.  Each  boat  would  contain  one  or  more  families  of  men, 
women  and  children,  with  their  domestic  animals  and  furniture.  A 
little  hut  at  one  end  of  the  boat  was  the  cabin,  and  furnished  protection 
from  the  rain,  being  parlor,  bed-room  and  kitchen  for  the  household. 

Sometimes  a  large  raft  of  pine  boards  would  float  down  from  the  Al- 
legheny, containing  a  neat  log- hut,  and  present  a  novel  aspect,  the  emi- 
grants bringing  with  them  their  all — their  wives,  children,  horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  fowls,  the  dog,  wagon  and  household  furniture  of  all  sorts.  There 
was  no  toil  in  the  journey  down  the  stream.  Two  oars  appropriately 
placed  very  easily  kept  the  raft  in  the  center  of  the  stream.  With  corn 
meal  on  board,  milk  from  the  cow,  and  abundance  of  game  from  the  shore, 
the  emigrant  fared  sumptuously  on  his  voyage.  Not  unfrequently 
several  of  these  rafts  would  join  together, and  form  a  floating  village  of 
six  or  seven  families,  and  their  live  stock. 

At  an  early  period  regular  lines  of  keel-boats  were  established  be- 
tween Cincinnati  and  Pittsburgh,  each  boat  making  a  trip  in  fom'  weeks. 
These  boats  had  separate  cabins  for  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  pro- 
prietor of  one  of  these  lines  announced  that  "passengers  will  be  supplied 
with  provisions  and  liquors  of  all  kinds,  of  the  finest  quality,  and  at  the 
most  reasonable  rates  possible.  Persons  desiring  to  work  their  passage 
will  be  admitted  on  finding  themselves,  subject,  however,  to  the  same 
order  and  directions  from  the  master  of  the  boat  as  the  rest  of  the  work- 
ing hands  of  the  boat's  crew."  These  boats,  as  well  as  the  flat-boats, 
were  propelled  by  oars  and  setting  poles.  Their  cargoes  were  necessarily 
light,  especially  in  going  up  stream. 

The  first  improvement  in  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio,  according  to 
Judge  Burnet,  was  the  introduction  of  barges  moved  by  sails,  when  the 
wind  permitted,  and  at  other  times  by  oars  and  poles,  as  the  state  of  the 
water  might  require.  These  vessels  were  constructed  to  carry  from  fifty 
to  100  tons.  In  wet  seasons,  if  properly  manned,  they  could  make  two 
trips  between  Cincinnati  and  New  Orleans  in  a  year.  The  increased 
quantity  of  cargo  they  carried  reduced  the  price  of  freight,  and  enabled 
them  to  transport  from  New  Orleans  to  Cincinnati  at  from  $5  to  $6 
per  100,  which  was  below  the  average  charge  of  carriage  across  the 
mountains.  From  that  time  most  of  the  groceries  used  in  the  Territory 
were  brought  up  the  river  by  these  barges;  as  the  price  of  freight  was 
diminished,   the  quantity   of  produce   shipped   was   proportionately   in* 


132  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

creased.  The  introduction  of  this  mode  of  navigating  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  was  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  West.  The  barges  were 
well  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  designed,  and  continued 
in  use  until  navigation  by  steamboats  became  common. 

But  for  some  time  after  the  introduction  of  keel-boats,  flat-boating 
down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  was  an  important  business.  About  the 
year  1820  building  flat-boats  at  and  near  Hartford  assumed  importance. 
Sometimes  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty,  or  even  sixty,  would  be  loading  at 
one  time  in  that  vicinity.  These  boats  were  usually  from  sixty  to  eighty 
feet  long  by  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  wide,  and  drew  from  thirty  to 
thirty-six  inches  of  water.  Starting  upon  the  Ohio,  usually  in  March, 
on  reaching  the  Mississippi  these  boats  would  form  fleets  of  as  many  as 
twenty.'  Landing  every  night,  the  crew  would  remain  ashore  until  after 
breakfast.  Many  boats  were  loaded  at  Rising  Sun.  The  flat-boat  busi- 
ness began  to  decline  subsequent  to  1830. 

The  lirst  steamboat  which  made  a  voyage  down  the  Ohio  left  Pitts- 
burgh in  October,  1811,  and  in  four  days  arrived  at  Louisville.  This 
boat  was  called  the  "  New  Orleans,"  and  on  its  first  voyage  carried  no 
freight  or  passengers.  In  consequence  of  the  small  depth  of  water  in 
the  rapids,  the  boat  was  detained  at  Louisville  for  three  weeks.  It 
improved  the  time  in  making  several  trips  between  Louisville  and  Cin- 
cinnati. The  comparatively  few  and  scattered  inhabitants  on  the  Indi- 
ana side  of  the  river,  whom  even  the  rumor  of  such  an  invention  had 
never  reached,  when  they  gazed  upon  the  novel  appearance  of  the  vessel, 
saw  the  rapidity  with  which  it  made  its  way  over  the  waters  and  heard 
the  strange  noise  caused  by  the  stream  rushing  from  the  valves,  were 
excited  with  a  mixture  of  surprise  and  terror. 

Several  small  steamboats  were  constructed  at  Pittsburgh,  Brownsville 
and  Wheeling  within  the  next  five  years,  but  it  was  not  until  the  suc- 
cessful voyage  of  the  "  Washington"  between  Louisville  and  New  Orleans 
in  1817  that  the  general  public  were  convinced  that  steamboat  navigation 
of  the  western  rivers  would  succeed.  The  "  General  Pike,"  built  at  Cincin- 
nati in  1818,  to  ply  between  Louisville,  Cincinnati  and  Maysville,  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  steamboat  on  the  Ohio  for  the  exclusive  accommo- 
dation of  passengers.  This  vessel  measured  100  feet  keel,  twenty -five 
beam,  and  drew  three  feet  three  inches  of  water.  The  cabin  was  forty 
feet  long  and  twenty-five  broad. 


AGRICULTURE.  133 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

AGRICULTURE. 

PiONEEK  Farming— Early  Implements— Pioneer  Plowing— Reaping 
WITH  THE  Sickle— Horses— Cattle— Swine— Principal  Crops- The 
Floating  Barn— A.gricultural  Societies— Ohio  and  Switzerland 
County  Agricultural  Society— Dearborn  County  Agricultural 
Society— Southeast  Indiana  ^agricultural  Society— Lawrence- 
burgh  xVgricultural  Association. 

lyj'OTWITHSTANDING  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the  rich,  virgin  soil 
JL N|  when  the  old  forests  were  cut  away,  and  the  genial  and  vivifying  rays 
of  the  sun  shone  upon  the  first  crops  planted  by  the  hand  of  man,  agricul- 
ture was  not  the  road  to  wealth  with  the  early  settlers.  The  great  embar- 
rassment under  which  the  pioneer  farmer- labored  was  the  difficulty  of  get- 
ting the  products  of  his  soil  to  a  market.  In  spite  of  roots  and  stumps, 
sprouts  and  bushes,  the  newly  cleared  land  brought  forth  bountiful  har 
vests;  but  the  wagon  roads  were  imperfect,  canals  and  railroads  un- 
thought  of,  and  the  distance  by  the  Ohio  River  to  the  principal  markets 
so  great,  the  navigation  so  difficult,  tedious  and  hazardous,  that  the  early 
farmer  had  little  encouragement  to  increase  the  products  of  his  fields 
beyond  the  wants  of  his  family,  and  the  supply  of  the  limited  home  mar- 
ket created  by  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  towns 
and  the  newly-arrived  immigrants.  The  average  time  required  for  a  jour- 
ney by  a  flat-boat  propelled  by  oars  and  poles,  from  Lawrenceburgh  to 
New  Orleans  and  return,  was  six  months.  The  cargoes  taken  in  these 
boats  were  necessarily  light;  the  boats  could  not  be  easily  brought  back, 
and  were  generally  abandoned  at  New  Orleans  and  the  crew  returned  by 
land,  sometimes  on  foot  through  a  wilderness  of  hundreds  of  miles.  A 
large  part  of  the  proceeds  of  the  cargo  was  necessarily  consumed  in  the 
cost  of  taking  it  to  market. 

Hogs  and  cattle  were  driven  afoot  over  the  mountains,  and,  after  a 
journey  of  a  month  or  six  weeks,  fouad  an  uncertain  market  in  Baltimore. 
Corn  rarely  commanded  more  than  10  or  12  cents  per  bushel;  wheat,  30 
or  40  cents;  hay  was  from  $3  to  $4  per  ton;  flour  from  $1.50  to  $2  per 
hundred;  pork  from  $1  to  $2  per  hundred;  the  average  price  of  good 
beef  was  $1.50  per  hundred,  while  oats,  potatoes,  butter  and  eggs 
scarcely  had  a  market  value,    and  the  sale  of  cabbage  and  turnips  was 


134  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

almost  unlieard  of.  But  the  early  farmers  supplied  tLeir  homes  liberally 
with  the  comforts  of  pioneer  life;  they  lived  independently,  and,  perhaps, 
were  as  happy  and  contented  as  those  who  have  the  luxuries  brought  by 
wealth  and  commence. 

The  proximity  of  a  spring,  rather  than  the  claims  of  taste  or  sanitary 
considerations,  usually  determined  the  location  of  the  first  residence  of 
the  pioneer  farmer;  and  the  log  stable  and  the  corn-crib,  made  of  rails 
or  poles,  were  apt  to  be  in  close  proximity  to  the  residence.  The  first 
fences,  both  for  the  fields  and  the  door-yard,  were  made  of  rails  in  the 
form  of  the  Virginia,  or  worm  fence.  This,  in  a  new  country,  where 
timber,  readily  split  with  the  wedge  and  maul,  was  abundant,  was  the 
cheapest  and  the  most  durable  fence.  Unsightly  as  it  is,  it  is  yet  super- 
seded to  a  limited  extent  only  by  post  and  rail,  board  or  wire  fences,  or 
hedges. 

IMPLEMENTS. 

The  agricultural  implements  of  the  pioneers  were  necessarily  few  in 
number  and  made  simple  in  construction — often  made  on  the  farm  with 
some  assistance  from  the  noir^hboring  blacksmiths.  The  plows  used  were 
the  bar- share  and  the  shovel.  The  iron  part  of  the  former  consisted  of 
a  bar  of  iron  about  two  feet  long,  and  a  broad  share  of  iron  welded  to 
it.  At  the  extreme  point  was  a  coulter  that  passed  through  a  beam  six 
or  seven  feet  long,  to  which  were  attached  handles  of  corresponding 
length.  The  mold  board  was  a  wooden  one  split  out  of  winding  tim- 
ber, or  hewed  into  a  winding  shape  in  order  to  turn  the  soil  over.  The 
whole  length  of  the  plow,  from  the  fore  end  of  the  beam  to  the  ends  of 
the  handles,  was  eight  or  ten  feet.  Newly  cleared  ground  was  with  this 
plow  broken  up  with  great  difficulty.  On  this  subject  a  pioneer  says: 
"The  old  bar-share  plow,  with  a  coulter  and  wooden  mold  board,  was 
the  best  plow  then  in  use,  though  by  far  the  greatest  number  used  only 
the  shovel  plow,  which  answered  an  excellent  purpose  in  the  loose  rich 
alluvium  soil  in  its  virgin  purity,  free  from  weeds  and  grass.  The  shovel 
was  all  the  iron  connected  with  the  plow,  and  not  unlike  those  in  use  at 
the  present  day.  The  gearing  or  harness  used  by  a  majority  of  our  pio- 
neers was  so  novel  in  its  construction  that  I  must  describe  it.  The  bridle 
for  the  horse  was  an  iron  bit,  the  balance  being  of  small  rope.  The  col- 
lar was  made  of  shucks  (the  husks  of  the  corn).  The  hames  were  shaped 
out  of  a  crooked  oak  or  a  hickory  root,  fastened  at  the  top  with  a  cord 
and  at  the  bottom  in  the  same  way.  The  traces  were  of  rope,  the  back- 
band  being  of  tow  cloth.  The  whiffle-tree  or  single-tree  was  of  wood, 
with  a  notch  on  each  end;  the  trace  hitched  by  a  loop  over  the  whiffle- 
tree,  and  to  the  hame  through  a  hole.  The  whiffle  tree  was  attached  to 
the  double-tree  by  a  hickory  withe,   and  sometimes  by  a  wooden  clevis 


AGRICULTURE.  135 

made  of  two  pieces  of  some  tough  wood,  with  wooden  pin:  the  double- 
tree fastened  to  the  end  of  the  plow  beam  by  the  same  form  of 
clevis  and  sometimes  an  iron  one.  To  the  rope  bridle  was  attached  a 
cord,  called  a  single-line,  by  which  the  horse  was  driven.  By  far  the 
largest  number  of  plow-teams  was  only  a  single  horse,  geared  as  before 
described,  and  hitched  to  the  shovel-plow,  the  ground  broken  up,  crossed 
oflf  and  tended  by  the  same  plow  and  horse." 

The  cast-iron  plow  was  slowly  introduced.  The  early  harrows  were 
made  of  bars  of  wood  and  wooden  teeth,  and  were  rude  and  homely  in 
construction.  Sometimes,  in  place  of  the  harrow,  a  brush,  weighted 
down  with  a  piece  of  timber,  was  dragged  over  the  ground.  The  sickle 
was  in  universal  use  for  harvesting  grain  until  about  1825,  when  it  was 
gradually  superseded  by  the  cradle.  The  sickle  is  one  of  the  most  an- 
cient of  farming  implements;  but  reaping  with  the  sickle  was  always  slow 
and  laborious.  For  the  twenty  years  succeeding  1830,  there  were  few 
farmers  who  did  not  know  how  to  swing  the  cradle  and  scythe,  but  dur- 
ing the  next  twenty  years  reapers  and  mowers,  drawn  by  horses,  became 
almost  the  only  harvesters  of  grain  and  grass.  The  first  reaping  ma- 
chines merely  cut  the  grain;  a  raker  was  necessary  to  gather  the  grain 
into  sheaves  ready  for  the  binders.  Self-raking  reaping  machines  soon 
followed,  and,  about  1878,  self-binding  machines  were  introduced.  Of 
the  two  old-fashioned  methods  of  separating  the  grain  from  the  straw — 
the  flail  and  the  tramping  with  horses — the  latter  was  the  most  common 
in  this  region.  To-day,  instead  of  this  slow  and  wasteful  method,  a 
horse  or  steam-power  thresher  not  only  separates  the  grain,  but  winnows 
it  and  carries  the  straw  to  the  stack,  all  at  the  same  time. 

HARVESTING    WITH    THE    SICKLE. 

A  newspaper  writer  thus  describes  the  harvesting  of  the  pioneers: 
"  My  first  experience  in  harvesting  was  about  1825.  Then  about 
twenty-five  or  more  men  would  work  together.  The  reapers  went  to  the 
farm-house  where  they  were  to  harvest,  and  there  they  would  find  a  lunch 
set  out,  consisting  of  milk,  bread  and  butter,  cold  ham  sliced,  onions, 
etc.,  then  a  tanzy  bitters,  after  which  they  get  to  the  field.  There  a 
leader  was  chosen,  generally  by  the  owner  of  the  field.  The  leader  com- 
mences; he  cuts  a  space  about  four  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep;  the 
second  falls  in,  and  cuts  the  same  space,  and  so  on  until  all  are  cutting. 
They  cut  to  the  middle  of  the  field,  and  then  if  the  leader  is  acquainted 
with  all  his  men  he  will  stand  and  rest  for  from  one  to  five  minutes;  if 
not,  he  will  inspect  the  work  of  every  one  thoroughly,  and  commend  or 
reprimand  as  he  thinks  the  reapers  deserve.  After  the  brief  rest  is  over, 
the  leader  gives  the  word  to  go  ahead,  and  they  cut  to  the  end.     If  the 


136  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

grain  should  be  very  wet  they  let  it  lie  in  grips  until  it  is  dry  enough  to 
bind.  They  keep  on  cutting  until  about  8  o'clock,  when  they  breakfast. 
About  9  o'clock  they  commence  again.  Dinner  is  served  at  12.  About  4 
o'clock  a  piece  with  coffee,  some  of  the  reapers  putting  a  good  dram  in 
their  coffee.  Early  in  the  morning  the  boys  were  allowed  to  take  their 
sickles  and  gouge  for  their  fathers;  that  is,  to  go  to  the  far  end  of  their 
through  and  reap  till  they  would  meet  them,  but  as  soon  as  the  dew  was 
off  they  had  to  hang  up  their  sickles.  Some  would  be  detailed  to  carry 
water,  others  placed  under  some  old  man  and  made  to  gather  sheaves. 
All  this  seems  very  slow  work  compared  with  that  of  the  reaping 
machine,  but  the  modern  reaper  could  have  done  nothing  in  the  fields 
then,  for  the  stumps  stood  as  thick  as  the  shocks. 

"About  1827  there  were  two  cradles  in  our  fields,  but  they  never  cut 
as  clean  as  the  sickle  or  the  reaping  machine.  But  the  cradles  soon 
caused  the  sickles  to  be  hung  up  in  the  barn,  seldom  to  be  taken  down 
except  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  a  patch  of  grain  blown  down.  Wages 
for  reapers  were  50  cents  per  day." 


The  capital  invested  in  domestic  animals  constitutes  a  large  item  in 
the  wealth  of  the  counties.  Improvements  in  breeds  of  all  the  farm  ani- 
mals have  kept  pace  with  the  improvements  in  agricultural  implements 
and  methods  of  tilling  the  soil.  After  the  land  had  been  generally 
cleared  of  the  forests,  the  necessity  of  oxen  ceased,  and  interest  in  the 
improvement  of  the  horse  commenced.  The  possession  of  good  horses — 
elegant,  strong  and  speedy — became  a  matter  of  pride  with  the  farmer. 
Speed  was  not  considered  of  special  value  in  the  horse  until  the  improve- 
ments in  the  public  roads  rendered  possible  the  use  of  the  modern  light 
carriage. 

The  beneficial  effect  of  agricultural  fairs  was  soon  seen  in  the 
improvement  of  live  stock,  and  especially  of  horses.  Before  the  estab- 
lishment of  fairs  the  horses  of  this  region  were  of  a  most  uncertain 
and  inferior  breed.  Soon  after  the  Morgan  horses,  Tom  Crowders, 
Hio-hlanders  and  other  good  horses  were  introduced.  The  Morgans 
came  first,  and  a  number  of  fine  horses  of  the  breed  were  exhibited  at 
early  fairs,  and  were  much  admired.  Whenever  a  new  breed  has  been 
introduced  the  tendency  has  always  been  to  amalgamate  it  with  stock 
already  in  use.  The  strains  of  blood  have  not  therefore  been  kept  dis- 
tinct. The  farm  horses  or  horses  for  general  purposes  found  throughout 
the  counties  are  of  mixed  and  uncertain  blood,  but  it  is  certain  that  they 
have  been  greatly  improved  within  thirty  years  in  style,  action,  form, 
temper  and  endurance. 


^J^n^jTA^ 


■2/'tlf?L  Ji  ^ 


AGRICULTURE.  139 


The  cattle  of  the  early  settlers  were  introduced  from  various  quarters, 
eraigrants  from  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Kentucky  bringing  many 
with  them;  and  it  is  believed  by  some  that  cattle  raised  by  the  Indians 
previous  to  the  first  settlement  by  the  whites,  were  an  element  in  the 
original  or  common  herds  in  the  West.  Of  course  they  were  a  heteroge- 
neous collection,  yet  in  process  of  time,  the  stock  was  assimilated  to  the 
locality,  acquiring  local  characteristics,  by  which  the  experienced  cattle- 
dealer  determined  from  their  general  appearance  the  region  in  which 
they  were  reared. 

The  early  farmers  suffered  their  cattle  to  wander  through  the  woods 
and  uncultivated  grounds,  browsing  for  their  living,  and  thus  some  of 
the  native  grasses  or  shrubs  were  extirpated  by  being  cropped  off  early 
in  the  spring  before  the  flowers  and  seeds  were  formed.  In  winter  the 
cows  were  not  housed  nor  sheltered,  but  found  their  subsistence  at  a 
stack  of  wheat-straw,  or  in  the  corn-field,  after  husking  time;  or,  at  best, 
were  fed  twice  a  day  in  an  open  lot  with  fodder  and  unhusked  corn. 
The  practice,  which  is  still  common,  of  securing  the  corn  before  it  is 
fully  matured,  by  cutting  off  the  stalks  near  the  ground,  and  stacking  it 
in  the  field,  is  said  to  have  originated  with  the  cattle-feeders  of  Virginia. 

The  Patton  stock  of  cattle,  introduced  into  Kentucky  early  in  this 
century,  doubtless  found  their  way  across  the  Ohio,  and  were  crossed 
with  the  cattle  on  the  north  side.  The  Kentucky  importation  of  1817 
also  probably  influenced,  to  some  extent,  the  cattle  of  this  region.  Excel- 
lent short-horn  cattle  continued  to  be  introduced  from  time  to  time, until 
there  is  scarcely  a  neighhorhood  in  which  more  or  less  of  their  cross  is 
not  found.  Of  lale  years  the  Jerseys  and  other  breeds  are  finding  their 
way  into  favor. 

SWINE. 

A  writer  on  the  subject  of  the  swine  of  the  early  settlers,  gives  this 
description  of  them:  "They  were  long  and  slim,  long-suouted  and  long- 
legged,  with  an  arched  back,  and  bristles  erect  from  the  back  of  the  head 
to  the  tail,  slab-sided,  active  and  healthy.  The  'sapling-splitter'  and 
'razor-back,'  as  he  was  called,  was  ever  in  the  search  for  food, and  quick 
to  take  alarm.  He  was  capable  of  making  a  heavy  hog,  but  required  two 
years  or  more  to  mature,  and.  until  a  short  time  before  butchering  or 
marketing,  was  suffered  to  run  at  large,  subsisting  mainly  as  a  forager, 
and  in  the  fall  fattening  on  the  'mast.'  " 

What  a  contrast  between  the  bogs  of  that  period  and  those  of  1885! 
Probably  no  change  wrought  in  the  stock  of  the  farmer  is  so  marked  as 
in  this  animal.  Those  of  to-day  mature  early  and  are  almost  the  reverse 
of   the   razor-back,  having  a  small  head,  small   ear,  short  neck,  with  a 


140  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

long  body  and  hams,  and  in  general   shape  are   almost   square,  and  are 
capable  of  taking  on  250  pounds  of  flesh  in  eight  or  ten  months. 

Of  the  improved  breeds  of  swine,  the  Suffolks,  Chester  Whites, 
Berkshires  and  Poland  Chinas  are  foremost. 

PKINCIPAL    CROPS. 

Corn  is  especially  adapted  to  the  rich  bottoms  which  receive  frequent 
additions  of  rich  alluvium  from  the  overflowing  river  and  creeks.  The 
crop,  however,  is  sometimes  destroyed  by  late  floods.  In  what  is  known 
as  the  "big  bottom,"  a  large  tract  in  Dearborn  County  extending  from 
the  junction  of  the  Whitewater  and  Miami  Rivers  to  their  mouth,  and 
thence  along  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  Tanner's  Creek  at  Aurora,  a  dis- 
tance of  ten  miles,  corn  is  almost  the  exclusive  crop.  Fields  on  these 
bottoms  which  have  been  planted  in  corn  for  forty  years  in  succession, 
will  produce  without  manure  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  bushels  per 
acre.  The  average  is  about  seventy  five  bushels.  These  bottoms  are 
valued  very  highly  on  account  of  their  productiveness,  and  being  subject 
to  occasional  inundations  from  back-water  from  the  Ohio,  no  fears  are 
entertained  of  an  exhaustion  of  their  fertility.  In  Ohio  County  there 
are  extensive  tracts  of  fertile  bottom  lands  along  Laughery  Creek  and 
the  Ohio,  and  Indian  corn  is  perhaps  the  most  important  crop  in  Ohio 
and  Switzerland  Counties. 

Wheat  is  an  important  crop  in  this  region;  oats,  rye  and  barley  are 
also  grown  to  some  extent.  Potatoes  form  an  important  crop  in  Ohio 
County,  it  being  nothing  unusual  for  a  farmer  to  cultivate  forty  acres  in 
potatoes,  producing  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  bushels  per  acre.  Grass 
is  the  principal  crop  on  the  uplands.  Two  tons  of  hay  from  one  acre 
are  not  uncommon,  but  the  average  yield  is  about  one  ton  per  acre, 
Switzerland  County  has  been  noted  for  the  amount  of  timothy  hay 
shipped  to  the  Southern  market.  The  hay  is  pressed  into  bales  by  what 
is  generally  called  the  "Morman  Hay  Press."  Some  years  ago  there 
were  reported  to  be  about  two  hundred  of  these  presses  in  Switzerland 
County  and  about  fifty  in  Ohio  County.  In  Cotton  Township,  in  the 
former  county,  where  this  press  was  invented  and  the  first  one  erected, 
there  were  said  to  be  fifty  in  operation.  In  recent  years  tobacco  grow- 
ing has  become  an  important  industry  in  southeast  Indiana. 

THE  FLOATING  BARN.* 

Mr.  Jesse  Hunt,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
that  place,  and  about  the  year  1819  erected  "Hunt's  Hotel,"  which,  by 
nhe  way,  was  considered  the  "star"  hotel  of  this  country  as  long  as  Mr. 

*By  George  W.  Lane. 


AGRICULTURE.  141 

Hunt  kept  it.  As  he  had  to  raise  his  own  hay,  he  cleared  a  piecje  of 
ground  (upon  which  the  Methodist  Church  was  afterward  built),  and 
seeded  it  down  to  grass,  every  year  clearing  a  little  more  land,  and  rais- 
ing yearly  more  than  was  necessary  for  home  consumption,  until  he 
found  a  surplus  of  hay  upon  his  hands  which  he  knew  not  how  to  dis- 
pose of.  After  thinking  over  the  matter  for  some  time,  he  concluded 
that  there  must  be  a  market  for  hay  somewhere  down  the  river,  and  made 
up  his  mind  to  put  his  hay  afloat  and  try  to  find  that  market.  But  there 
was  one  great  difficulty  which  stood  in  the  way  of  this  project:  the  bulk 
of  the  hay  would  prevent  its  being  compact  enough  to  make  the  trans- 
portation of  it  profitable.  Here  indeed  was  a  dilemma;  but  ever  fertile 
in  expedients,  Mr.  Hunt  conceived  the  idea  of  pressing  his  hay.  But 
how  to  construct  a  machine  for  doing  this  puzzled  him  worse  than  ever, 
and  brought  his  speculation  to  a  stand.  At  this  stage  of  the  proceed- 
ings he  bethought  him  of  a  Mr.  Morrison,  an  "universal  genius,"  and  a 
man  of  great  inventive  propensities,  who  lived  at  Hardintown,  and 
who,  he  thought,  if  any  one,  could  aid  him  in  the  construction  of  his 
machine.  So,  posting  up  to  Hardintown,  he  sought  Mr.  Morrison,  and 
laid  his  plans  before  him.  Mr.  M.  entered  heartily  into  the  scheme,  and 
setting  to  work  in  a  few  days  turned  out  the  first  hay  press  ever  invented 
— an  old-fashioned,  wooden  screw  press.  When  it  was  completed  Mr. 
M.  went  on  to  Washington  and  procured  a  patent  for  his  invention. 
Meanwhile  Mr.  Hunt  had  the  press  put  up,  and  set  to  work  baling  his 
hay.  The  neighbors  gathered  around  to  witness  the  operations  of  the 
new  "hay-mil],"  which  was  the  object  of  as  much  curiosity  as  would 
have  been  a  traveling  menagerie  to  the  denizens  of  this  then  sparsely 
settled  country.  Some  shook  their  heads,  others  laughed  outright,  and 
all  persisted  in  assuring  Mr.  Hunt  that  they  would  soon  see  in  him  a 
walking  illustration  that  "a  fool  and  his  money  are  soon  parted."  But 
Mr.  H.  "reckoned  he  knew  a  thing  or  two,"  and  kept  on  about  his  busi- 
ness, despite  their  taunts  and  jeers.  The  hay  baled,  the  next  thing  to 
be  done  was  to  build  a  boat  to  put  it  in.  This  was  accomplished  in  due 
time,  and  the  first  hay  boat  that  ever  floated  down  the  Ohio  received  its 
load  preparatory  to  starting  for  a  market.  From  his  inexperience  in 
the  business,  Mr.  Hunt  had  some  difficulty  in  constructing  sweeps,  etc., 
to  suit  him,  but  having  the  whole  forest  to  go  to,  he  at  last  got  his  boat 
rigged  out,  and  everything  ready  for  a  start.  On  the  day  of  his  depar- 
ture the  whole  settlement  turned  out  to  see  the  "floating  barn"  fairly 
under  way,  and  amid  the  not  very  complimentary  remarks  of  the  more 
knowing  ones,  and  the  ridicule  of  the  whole  crowd,  the  moorings  were 
cast  off,  and  the  boat  floated  along  with  the  current,  and  was  soon  lost  to 
their  sight  as  it  swept  around  the  nearest  bend. 


142  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

"The  crowd,  with  fingers  in  their  mouths, 
"Went  homeward,  one  by  one." 

Mr.  Hunt's  hay  speculation  furnished  material  for  gossip  for  a  few 
days,  and  was  then  almost  entirely  forgotten. 

In  those  days  the  arrival  of  a  steamboat  at  the  wharf  was  not  a  mat- 
ter of  such  comparative  indifference  as  at  present.  There  were  then  but 
very  few  boats  navigating  the  Western  rivers,  and  the  stoppage  of  a  boat 
at  a  river  town  brought  all  the  inhabitants  to  the  bank  to  see  who  was 
going  to  land,  learn  the  news,  etc.  Steamboat  whistles  had  not  then 
come  into  use,  and  each  boat  carried  a  small  cannon,  which  was  fired  off 
to  announce  its  approach  to  town.  One  day,  it  may  have  been  three  or 
four  weeks  after  Mr.  Hunt's  departure,  the  booming  of  a  cannon  an- 
nounced to  the  citizens  of  Lawrenceburgh  that  a  steamboat  was  ap- 
proaching their  village.  Instantly  all  work  was  stopped;  the  blacksmith 
dropped  his  sledge,  the  carpenter  his  plane,  the  merchant  his  yardstick, 
and  all  repaired  to  the  bank  of  the  river  to  watch  the  approaching  boat. 
On  she  came,  and  when  she  had  arrived  sufficiently  near  to  enable  the 
people  on  the  shore  to  distinguish  one  individual  from  another,  they  saw 
Jesse  Hunt  standing  erect  upon  the  prow.  The  boat  landed,  and  the 
eager  crowd  gathered  around  Mr.  Hunt,  with,  "Well,  Jesse,  how  far 
down  did  you  get  with  your  'floating  barn'  before  you  stove  her?" 
"What's  hay  worth  in  New  Orleans?"  "Where's  the  wreck  of  your 
boat?"  etc.,  etc.  As  soon  as  he  could  get  an  opportunity,  Mr.  Hunt  told 
them  that  he  had  got  along  very  well  until  he  arrived  at  the  mouth  of 
White  River,  where  they  were  lying  one  day,  when  a  steamboat  came 
up,  and  a  stranger,  hailing  Mr.  Hunt,  asked  him  what  he  would  take  a 
ton  for  his  hay.  He  replied  $30.  The  stranger  accepted  the  offer,  the 
hay  changed  hands,  and  IMr.  Hunt  returned  home.  The  crowd  which 
had  gathered  around  him,  expecting  to  have  some  rare  sport  at  his 
expense,  felt  rather  cheap  at  this  (to  them)  unexpected  result  of  his  spec- 
•ulation,  and  quietly  dispersed. 

As  it  was  when  Columbus  made  the  egg  stand  upon  its  end,  so  it  was 
in  this  case.  The  ice  having  been  broken,  others  built  boats  and  sent 
their  hay  down  the  river,  from  which  they  realized  handsome  profits. 
Thus  was  a  trade  commenced  which  has  increased  from  year  to  year  as 
the  county  became  more  thickly  settled,  until  hay  has  become  a  leading 
article  of  export,  affording  employment  to  a  large  number  of  our  citi- 
zens in  preparing  it  and  getting  it  to  market,  and  returning  a  handsome 
profit  to  those  who  invest  their  money  in  speculating  upon  it.  We  can 
hardly  pass  a  farm  in  a  ride  of  ten  miles  into  the  country  but  what  has 
a  hay  press,  and  whenever  we  see  one  it  reminds  us  of  the  "hay  mill" 
that  was  so  universally  ridiculed  by  the  good  people  of  Lawrenceburgh 
in  1819. 


AGRICULTURE.  143 

AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETIES  AND  FAIRS. 

The  Ohio  and  Switzerland  County  Agricultural  Society  was  organized 
October  11, 1851.  The  first  annual  fair  of  the  society  was  held  at  Rising 
Sun,  October  6  and  7,  1852,  at  which  the  attendance  was  reported  unex- 
pectedly large,  numbering  about  3,000  people.  The  exhibit  of  agricult- 
ural and  mechanical  articles  was  commendable.  The  number  of  pre- 
miums awarded  was  sixty- seven,  and  the  amount  paid  for  premiums  was 
$101  besides  a  number  of  copies  of  the  report  of  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture.  At  this  time  John  Hall  was  president  and  W.  M.  French, 
secretary.  For  four  or  five  years  the  exhibitions  of  the  society  were  held 
alternately  between  Rising  Sun  and  Vevay,  the  citizens  of  those  places 
contributing  the  funds  necessary  to  fit  up  the  grounds.  In  1857,  a  per- 
manent site  for  a  fair  ground  was  secured  near  Enterprize,  in  Switzer- 
land County,  since  which  time  the  exhibitions  have  been  held  there.  In 
1877  the  association  had  twenty-five  acres.  Success  has  almost  invari- 
ably attended  the  fairs  of  the  society.  In  1880,  the  secretary  reported 
1,080  entries,  $1,700  paid  out  in  premiums;  $400  expended  in  sub- 
stantial improvements;  all  claims  against  the  society  paid  and  a  balance 
in  the  treasury  of  $891.60. 

The  Dearborn  County  Agricultural  Society  was  organized  April  10, 
1852.  The  first  officers  were  Seth  Piatt,  president;  Gersham  Dunn  and 
John  D.  Johnson,  vice-presidents,  and  Francis  Worley,  secretary.  The 
first  annual  fair  was  held  at  Manchester,  October  27,  28,  and  29,  1852. 
In  that  year  the  society  numbered  125  members.  The  receipts  and  ex- 
penditures of  the  society  the  first  year  were  as  follows: 

From  fees  of  members •. $117.00 

"      county 60.00 

"      premium  donated 13.00 

"      proceeds  of  fair 71.75 

$261.75 

Paid  amount  of  premiums $83.00 

"    printing 8.00 

"    contingent  expenses  of  fair 11.45 

"    books  and  stationery 11.08 

$113.53 

Balance  in  treasury $148.22 

In  1856,  the  Dearborn  County  Fairs  began  to  be  held  at  Aurora. 
The  society  had  there  enclosed  nine  acres  of  ground  leased  for  five  years. 
In  1858  the  society  had  600  members. 

The  Southeastern  Indiana  Agricultural  Society  was  organized  as  a 
stock  company  in  1869,  and  was  a  reorganization  of  the  Aurora   society. 


144  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

March  4,  1869,  the  Dearborn  County  Agricultural  Society  met  and 
resolved  to  abandon  their  organization,  and  to  organize  a  new  society 
under  the  laws  of  Indiana  to  be  known  as  the  Southeastern  Indiana  Agri- 
cultural, Horticultural  and  Mechanical  Association.  The  first  fair  of  the 
new  organization  was  held  September  7,  8,  9,  10  and  11,  1869.  The 
receipts  were  $2,210.10;  the  amount  paid  for  premiums  was  |1,656,  and 
$557  were  expended  on  the  grounds.  The  fair  ground  is  located  one- 
half  mile  northwest  of  Aurora  in  a  beautiful  grove  of  maple-trees.  The 
ground  is  held  in  trust  by  the  city  for  the  use  of  the  society;  the  im- 
provements are  owned  by  the  society. 

The  Lawrenceburgh  Agricultural  Association  held  its  first  fair  in 
1879.  The  association  has  splendid  fair  grounds,  with  a  half-mile  track, 
and  a  covered  stand  with  a  seating  capacity  of  2,500.  The  grounds  are 
beautifully  situated,  and  the  appointments  complete.  The  city  has  been 
liberal  to  the  society  in  donations.  The  secretary,  in  his  report  for 
1882,  said:  "The  past  has  been  very  unlucky  in  some  respects.  Fire 
has  twice  destroyed  forty-eight  box  stalls  and  a  barn.  The  first  time  the 
loss  was  $1,800,  but  the  second  time,  luckily,  we  were  insured  for  $1,200, 
about  two-thirds  of  the  damage  sustained.  In  the  winter  of  1882  the 
Miami  and  Ohio  Rivers  broke  over  their  banks,  and  went  rushing  through 
the  fair  grounds  at  a  lively  rate,  carying  desolation  in  their  wake,  and 
playing  sad  havoc  with  the  grounds  generally.  The  association  was 
damaged  fully  $1,000  by  this  catastrophe.  Notwithstanding  these  dis- 
couragements, the  directors  went  to  work,  built  new  box  stalls  and  barn, 
a  large  and  fine  art  hall  costing  $2,000,  and  made  other  improvements. 
The  success  of  the  fair  of  1882  was  phenomenal.  It  rained  every  day 
during  the  fair,  and  by  looking  at  the  gate  receipts  you  find  that  the  at- 
tendance was  astonishingly  large." 


THE  LEGAL   PROFESSION.  145 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION. 

The  Legal  Business  of  the  Pioneers— The  Practice  of  Law  in  the 
Territorial  Courts— The  Lawyers  and  practice  in  the  Early 
State  Courts— The  Pioneer  Lawyers  of  Dearborn  County  — 
Sketches  of  Some  Deceased  Members  of  the  Bar. 

IT  is  probable  that  the  legal  business  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  south 
east  Indiana  was  transacted  at  Cincinnati,  which  was  the  most  im-' 
portant  town  northwest  of  the  Ohio.  The  first  courts  in  Indiana  were 
held  at  Vincennes,  and  that  place  was  the  first  seat  of  justice  of  the  re- 
gion comprising  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties,  but  its  distance,  and  the 
fact  that  at  that  time  there  had  been  no  sales  of  land  by  the  United 
States,  make  it  doubtful  if  any  legal  business  for  this  region  was  trans- 
acted at  that  ancient  town.  Cincinnati  was  accessible;  was  the  seat  of 
justice  for  this  region  from  1798  to  1802,  and  the  United  States  land 
office  was  located  there.  In  1796,  when  the  first  settlements  were  com- 
menced in  Dearborn  County,  there  were  nine  practicing  attorneys  in  the 
little  village  of  Cincinnati,  all  of  whom,  except  two,  says  Judge  Burnet, 
became  confirmed  drunkards,  and  descended  to  premature  graves.  The 
same  writer  says  of  the  early  lawyers  and  the  practice  of  law  in  the  ter- 
ritory northwest  of  the  Ohio: 

"It  was  always  my  opinion  that  there  was  a  fair  proportion  of  genius 
and  talent  among  the  early  members  of  the  bar.  Some  of  them,  it  is 
true,  were  uneducated,  and  had  to  acquire  their  legal  knowledge  after 
they  assumed  the  profession.  These  were  not  numerous,  but  were  noisy 
and  officious,  and,  for  some  time,  were  able  to  procure  a  considerable 
amount  of  practice.  This  may  be  accounted  for,  in  part,  by  the  fact 
that  the  docket  contained  a  large  number  of  actions  for  slander  and  as- 
sault and  battery,  and  indictments  for  larceny,  libels  and  the  like,  which 
generally  originated  among  the  followers  of  the  army,  who  were  numer- 
ous, consisting  of  pack-horsemen,  bullock-drivers,  boatmen  and  artificers, 
who  were  not  always  very  discriminating  in  the  selection  of  counsel. 

"In  1796  our  circuit  was  a  very  extended  one,  though  it  included  but 
three  counties — Washington,  Hamilton  and  Wayne.  Nevertheless,  in  De- 
cember, 1799  Mr.  St.  Clair  and  myself  attended  the  court  at  Vincennes, 
in  the  county  of  Knox,  with  a  view  of  engaging  in  the  practice.      But 


146  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

the  distance,  connected  with  the  fact  that  the  docket  did  not  present  a 
prospect  of  much  lucrative  business,  induced  us  to  abandon  the  project. 

"When  it  is  recollected  that  the  country  at  that  time,  and  for  some 
years  thereafter,  was  destitute  of  roads,  bridges  and  ferries,  and  even  of 
white  inhabitants,  after  traveling  thirty  or  forty  miles  from  the  county 
towns,  it  might  naturally  be  concluded  that  our  journeys  through  the 
wilderness,  from  court  to  court,  were  irksome  and  unpleasant.  Such, 
however,  was  not  the  fact.  We  took  care  to  provide  comfortable  stores, 
which  we  were  enabled  to  transport  on  our  horses,  with  the  aid  of  a 
pack-horse,  and  our  minds  were  made  up  to  endure  anything  that  might 
occur.  The  want  of  bridges  and  ferries  rendered  the  art  of  swimming 
an  indispensable  qualification  of  a  good  hackney.  No  man  purchased  a 
horse  for  the  saddle  without  being  first  assured  that  he  was  a  safe  swim- 
mer, and  when  mounted  on  such  a  steed  he  felt  himself  secure.  Gener- 
ally, our  parties  consisted  of  four  or  five,  and  were,  in  reality,  more  like 
excursions  for  amusement  than  journeys  of  fatigue  and  distress." 

Oliver  H.  Smith,  in  speaking  of  the  lawyers  of  early  Indiana,  says:  "Our 
lawyers  were  what  the  world  calls  self  made  men,  meaning  men  who  have 
not  had  the  advantages  of  rich  fathers  and  early  education,  to  whom  the 
higher  seminaries  and  colleges  were  sealed  books;  men  gifted  by  nature 
with  strong,  vigorous,  clear  intellects,  fine  health  and  sound  constitutions; 
men  who,  like  the  newly  hatched  swan,  were  directed  by  nature  to  their 
proper  elements,  their  proper  professions.  Few  of  them  failed  of  success. 
Necessity  urged  to  action.  With  most  of  them  it  was  'root  or  die.'  In 
ninety-nine  cases  out  of  every  hundred  of  the  failures  in  the  dif- 
ferent professions  and  avocations  in  life,  charged  by  the  world  to  '  bad 
luck,'  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  selection  of  a  profession, 
avocation  or  business  that  nature  never  intended  you  for.  The  smallest 
teal  or  duck,  that  swims  on  the  bosom  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  would  sink 
and  drown,  in  that  element,  the  best  blooded  and  finest  game-cock  that 
ever  old  Virginia  produced  in  her  most  chivalric  days;  while  in  the  cock- 
pit the  teal  or  duck  would  be  nowhere  in  the  fight. 

"Our  counties  furnished  too  little  business  for  the  resident  attorneys; 
we  all  looked  to  a  circuit  practice.  Some  rode  the  whole  circuit,  and 
others  over  but  few  counties.  We  sometimes  had  a  little  sparring  in  our 
cases  in  trials,  but  it  ended  there,  and  we  stood  banded  together  like 
brothers.  At  the  Rush  Circuit  Court  my  friend  Judge  Perry  bargained 
for  a  pony  for  $25,  to  be  delivered  the  next  day,  on  a  credit  of  six  months. 
The  man  came  with  the  pony,  but  required  security  of  the  Judge  for  the 
$25.  The  Judge  drew  the  note  at  the  top  of  a  sheet  of  foolscap  and 
signed  it.  I  signed  it;  James  Rariden  signed  and  passed  it  on,  and  on 
it  went  from  lawyer  to  lawyer  around  the  bar,  till  some  twenty  of  us  had 


THE  LEGAL   PROFESSION.  147 

signed  it.  I  then  handed  it  up  to  the  court,  and  the  three  judges  put 
their  names  to  it.  Judge  Perry  presented  it  to  the  man  he  had  bought 
the  pony  of,  but  he  promptly  refused  to  receive  it.  'Do  you  think  I  am 
a  fool,  to  let  you  get  the  court  and  all  the  lawyers  on  your  side  ?  I  see 
you  intend  to  cheat  me  out  of  my  pony.'  Up  he  jumped  and  ran  out  of 
the  court  house  on  full  gallop. 

"  The  great  variety  of  trials  and  incidents  on  the  circuit  gave  to  the 
life  of  a  traveling  attorney  an  interest  that  we  all  relished  exceedingly. 
There  was  none  of  the  Green  Bay  City  monotony,  no  dyspepsia,  no  gout, 
no  ennui,  rheumatism  or  neuralgia;  consumption  was  a  stranger  among 
us.  An  occasional  jump  of  the  ^toothache,  relieved  by  the  turnkey  of 
the  first  doctor  we  came  to,  was  the  worst.  All  was  fun,  good  humor, 
fine  jokes  well  received,  good  appetites  and  sound  sleeping,  cheerful 
landlords  and  good-natured  landladies  at  the  head  of  the  table.  We 
rode  first-class  hoi'ses:  Gen.  Noble  on  'Wrangler,'  for  which  he  gave 
$60;  Drew  on  '  Drew  Gray,'  cost  $70;  Caswell  on  'Blue  Dick,'  cost  $65; 
Rariden  on  'Old  Gray,'  cost  $80;  John  Test  on  'Bay  Filly,'  cost  $50; 
Gen.  McKinney  on  'McKinney  Roan,'  cost  $45;  David  Wallace  on 
'Ball,'  cost  $40;  Amos  Lane  on  '  Big  Sorrel,'  cost  $60;  Judge  Eggleston 
on  'Indian  pony,'  cost  $35;  George  H.  Dunn  on  'Dancing  Rabbit,'  cost 
$40;  James  B.  Ray  on  'Red  Jacket,'  cost  $60;  Martin  M.  Ray  on 
'John,'  cost  $35;  William  R.  Morrison  'Jacob,'  cost  $50;  Charles  H. 
Test  on  'Archie,'  cost  $40;  John  S.  Newman  on  'Clay  Bank,'  cost  $60; 
and  I  rode  'Grey  Fox,'  that  cost  me  $90.  These  were  the  highest  prices 
at  that  day  for  the  very  best  traveling  horses  in  the  country.  They  were 
trained  to  the  cross-pole  mud  roads,  and  to  swimming. 

"  Our  attorneys  were  ready,  off-hand  practitioners,  seldom  at  fault  for 
the  occasion.  Sometimes  we  had  to  meet  attorneys  from  other  States, 
who  would  tire  the  Latin  and  technical  terms  with  a  triumphant  air,  but 
in  most  cases  they  were  foiled  by  the  quick  retorts  of  our  bar." 

The  following  named  persons  were  members  of  the  bar  of  Dearborn 
County  and  practiced  before  the  courts  of  the  county  prior  to  1820: 
James  Dill,  J.  B.  Thomas,  Thomas  Wardell,  John  Lawrence,  Elijah 
Sparks,  Amos  Lane,  Jesse  L.  Holman,  James  Noble,  Stephen  C. 
Stevens,  William  Hendricks,  Daniel  J.  Caswell,  Moses  Hitchcock. 

Subsequent  to  1820  appear  the  names  of  John  Test,  Sr.,  George  H. 
Dunn,  Edwin  Pratt,  Ezekiel  Walker,  Arthur  St.  Clair  Vance,  Philip  L. 
Spooner,  Horace  Bassett,  Henry  Cunlifife,  D.  S.  Major,  James  T.  Brown, 
Theodore  and  Carter  Gazlay. 

The  following  list  of  the  members  of  the  bar  of  Dearborn  County  in 
1871  was  prepared  by  W.  W.  Tilley  in  an  historical  address  deposited 
in   the  corner-stone  of  the  court  house:     Daniel   S.  Major,  William  S. 


148  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Holman,  -John  D.  Haynes,  John  Schwartz,  John  K.  Thompson,  William 
Wirt  Tilley,  George  B.  Fitch,  Noah  S.  Givan,  Francis  Adkinson,  Will- 
iam H.  Bainbridge,  Omar  F.  Roberts,  George  W.  Roberts,  E.  W.  Adkin- 
son, Hamilton  Conaway,  William  H.  Mathews,  Isaac  M.  Dunn,  Charles 
S.  Dunn,  Hugh  D.  McMullen,  O.  B.  Liddell,  Richard  Gregg  and  George 
R.  Brumblay. 

When  the  first  term  of  court  in  Ohio  County  convened  on  the  second 
Monday  of  December,  1844,  the  resident  bar  of  that  county  consisted  of 
one  member  only,  Asaph  Buck,  who  soon  after  removed  to  Wilmington 
in  Dearborn  County.  On  the  second  day  of  the  term,  Daniel  Kelso, 
James  Brown,  Theodore  Gazley,  Daniel  S.  Major,  A.  C.  Downey,  J.  S. 
Jelley  and  P.  L.  Spooner  were  admitted  as  attorneys  of  the  court.  Of 
these  Hon.  A.  C.  Downey  and  James  S.  Jelley,  located  in  Rising  Sun, 
where  they  continued  to  reside.  A.  C.  Downey  became  circuit  judge  in 
1850  and  filled  that  office  until  1858,  and  in  1870  was  elected  to  the 
supreme  bench.  In  1846  Samuel  Dibble  and  John  W.  Spencer  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  and  located  in  Rising  Sun;  the  former  died  soon  after 
and  the  latter  continued  in  the  practice  until  his  death  in  1859.  Henry 
A.  Downey  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1849  and  practiced  at  Rising  Sun 
until  1858,  when  he  removed  to  Vevay.  John  J.  Hayden  was  admitted 
in  1850,  and,  in  1858,  was  elected  common  pleas  judge,  which  office  he 
resigned  in  1860  and  moved  to  Indiaaapolis. 

GEN.  JAMES  DILL,  an  Irish  barrister,  who  immigrated  to  America 
and  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  was  the  friend  and  associate 
of  Gen.  Harrison  and  Gen.  St.  Clair,  and  married  the  daughter  of  the 
latter.  Senator  Oliver  H.  Smith,  who  studied  law  with  him,  thus  de- 
scribes his  preceptor:  "He  was  frank  and  open  in  his  intercourse  with 
others,  about  the  common  height,  wore  a  long  cue,  dressed  with  taste, 
features  good,  eyelids  heavy,  hair  thrown  back  in  front."  Judge  Will- 
iam S.  Holman  says:  "Gen.  James  Dill  is  a  grand  character  in  the 
history  of  Dearborn  County.  He  was  the  last  of  our  gentlemen  of  the 
old  school.  Forty  years  ago  the  spirit  of  Westminster  pervaded  our 
jurisprudence.  It  appeared  even  in  our  forms  of  procedure.  There  was 
infinitely  more  of  the  pomp  and  show  of  judicial  authority  then  than 
now.  When  Gen.  Dill  appeared  in  court,  it  was  in  the  full  costume  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  last  century — his  knee  breeches  and  silver  buckles 
and  venerable  cue  neatly  plaited  and  flowing  over  his  shoulders, 
seemed  a  mild  protest  against  the  leveling  tendencies  of  the  age;  but 
nothing  could  impair  the  hold  which  the  gallant  soldier  and  courtly  and 
witty  Irishman  had  on  the  friendship  of  the  people  of  this  county.  He 
remained  clerk  for  many  years,  and  until  his  death."  Gen.  Dill  was  a 
member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  and  served  as  speaker  of  the  House 


THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION.  149 

in  that  body.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  formed  the 
first  constitution  of  Indiana,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committees  on 
impeachments  and  the  militia. 

JESSE  B.  THOMAS,  one  of  the  first  lawyers  of  Dearborn  County,  was 
born  in  Hagerstown,  Md.,  in  the  year  1777,  and  came  west  in  1799,  and 
studied  law  with  his  brother,  Richard  Symmes  Thomas,  of  Bracken 
County,  Ky.  On  the  organization  of  Dearborn  County,  Indiana 
Territory,  March  7,  1803,  he  located  in  Lawrenceburgh  as  a  practicing 
lawyer.  The  first  election  of  members  to  the  Territorial  Legislature,  was 
held  January  3,  1805.  Jesse  B.  Thomas  was  elected  a  member  for 
Dearborn  County,  and  served  in  that  body  as  speaker  of  the  House,  Ben- 
jamin Chambers,  of  the  same  county,  being  president  of  the  council. 
Mr.  Thomas  served  as  speaker  of  House  at  the  first  and  second  session  of 
the  Territorial  Legislature,  when  he  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the 
Territory  to  Congress.  On  the  organization  of  Illinois  Territory,  he  was 
appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  one  of  the  judges  of 
that  Territory,  and  removed  to  Kaskaskia;  thence  to  Cahokia  and  thence 
to  Edwardsville.  On  the  formation  of  a  constitution  and  State  govern- 
ment of  Illinois  in  1818,  he  was  a  delegate  to,  and  president  of,  the 
convention  that  formed  the  constitution  of  Illinois.  Mr.  Thomas  was 
elected  by  the  first  State  Legislature  as  United  States  Senator,  and  served 
in  that  body  ten  years.  He  then  removed  to  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio,  where 
he  died  in  1853. 

JUDGE  ELIJAH  SPARKS  was  born  in  Queen  Anne  County,  Va., 
about  1770.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  or  twenty  he  became  a  professor  of  re- 
ligion and,  in  1792,  he  engaged  as  a  traveling  preacher.  After  one  or  two 
changes  he  went  to  Kentucky  and  commenced  the  study  of  law,  and,  in 
the  fall  of  1800,  commenced  practice  in  Campbell  County,  Ky.  He  sub- 
sequently removed  to  Bank  Lick  (now  Covington)  in  the  same  State,  and, 
in  the  spring  of  1806,  removed  to  Lawrenceburgh,  at  which  time  John 
Weaver,  at  one  time  sheriff  of  Dearborn  County  and  a  brother  to  Mrs. 
Sparks,  was  then  a  United  States  oflScer,  and  with  a  small  command  occu- 
pied one  of  the  block-houses  in  what  is  now  Dearborn  County.  On  the 
16th  of  January,  1814,  Mr.  Sparks  was  made  one  of  the  Territorial 
judges  of  Dearborn  County,  which  office  he  filled  until  his  death  in  May, 
1815,  presiding  with  great  credit.  The  Rev.  Allen  Wiley  alludes  to  him 
as  "one  of  the  prominent  instruments  of  the  planting,  spread,  and  sym- 
metry of  Methodism  in  this  part  of  Indiana." 

HORACE  BASSETT  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Conn.,  January  18,1782; 
in  early  life  he  immigrated  to  Vermont;  he  there  studied  law  with  Col. 
Mattox,  and  followed  his  profession  successfully — for  some  time  filling 
the  office  of  State's  attorney.     He  removed  to  Indiana  in   1820,  and  set- 


150  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

tied  at  Aurora.  In  1822  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  which  met  at 
Corydon,  and  continued  to  represent  the  district  in  which  he  lived  for 
six  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Legislature  that  assembled  at 
Indianapolis.  It  was  through  his  instrumentality,  in  about  the  year 
1822,  that  the  township  system  was  adopted  as  a  system  local  to  Dear- 
born County.  Twenty  years  later,  when,  by  the  adoption  of  the  new 
■constitution  of  the  State,  legislation  concerning  townships,  county 
business  was  required  to  be  uniform,  impressed  with  the  value  of 
the  system,  William  S.  Holman,  another  member  from  Dearborn  County 
in  the  State  Legislature,  introduced  the  bill  extending  the  system  to  all 
the  counties  of  the  State.  This  bill  passed,  and  the  township  system, 
although  since  greatly  modified,  became  the  permanent  policy  of  Indiana. 
In  1832  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  removed  the  Indians  from 
tbis  State  to  the  far  West,  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Two  years  afterward 
he  was  appointed  by  Judge  Holman  clerk  of  the  United  States  Circuit 
and  District  Courts,  which  office  he  held  till  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
became  a  resident  of  Indianapolis  in  1840,  and  died  in  that  city  Decem- 
ber 18,  1860.  Mr.  Bassett  was  universally  respected  and  loved  by  those 
who  knew  him.  His  natural  intelligence,  united  with  extensive  reading, 
in  which  much  of  his  time  was  spent,  rendered  him  a  favorite  compan- 
ion in  the  social  circle.  At  his  death  the  committee  appointed  to  draft 
and  adopt  resolutions  expressive  of  the  feelings  of  the  membei's  of  the  bar 
and  officers  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  said:  "Inasmuch  as  it  has 
pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  to  call  to  Himself  our  friend  and  brother, 
Horace  Bassett,  Esq.,  who  for  so  many  years  past  has  been  clerk  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  we  his  friends  and  associates  have 
met  to  pay  our  tribute  of  respect  to  and  veneration  for  his  memory.  It 
is  not  so  much  his  long  and  useful  life  as  a  lawyer,  a  legislator  and  an 
officer  of  court,  as  his  high  merits  as  a  man  and  Christian,  which  we  de- 
sire to  commemorate."     *     *     * 

AMOS  LANE,  born  March  1,  1778,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  at 
the  time  he  left  that  State  for  the  West,  resided  at  Aurora,  not  far  from 
New  York  City.  Arriving  at  Cincinnati  he  halted  there  a  few  months, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1808  he  came  to  Lawrenceburgh,  Ind.  Mr.  Lane 
being  a  lawyer  by  profession  sought  admission  to  the  bar,  but  was  refused 
license  for  the  sole  reason,  as  he  frequently  declared,  that  he  was  an 
ardent  friend  of  Thomas  Jefi"erson.  This  was  in  the  summer  of  1808, 
and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  crossed  the  Ohio  River  with  his  family 
and  located  on  Judge  Piatt's  fariu.  Not  satisfied  with  his  location,  he 
constructed  a  huge  canoe,  and  loading  his  few  household  goods  and 
family  into  it,  he  floated  down  the  Ohio  River  to  Carrollton,  Ky., 
but  he  was  so  much  dissatisfied,  with  the  first  sight  he  had  of  the  town, 


THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION.  151 

that  he  returned  to  Boone  County,  and  located  directly  opposite 
Lawrenceburgh  on  the  bank  of  the  river  at  a  place  than  called  Tousey- 
town.  Here  he  remained  for  two  years,  turning  his  hand  to  anything 
that  would  enable  him  to  make  bread  for  his  family.  In  1811  he  located 
in  Burlington  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Kentucky.  In  1814  he 
returned  to  Lawrenceburgh  and  had  then  no  trouble  in  being  admitted 
to  th^  bar  of  Indiana.  He  soon  gained  a  high  place  in  his  profession, 
especially  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  He  distinguished  himself  in  the  case  of 
the  State  vs.  Amasa  Fuller,  indicted  for  murder,  appearing  as 
counsel  for  the  prosecution.  In  1816  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
first  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Indiana  and  was  chosen  speaker.  He 
was  re  elected  in  1817,  and  was  again  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in 
1839.  At  this  time  he  was  a  leadings  pirit  in  southern  Indiana.  In 
1833  he  was  elected  to  Congress  over'  John  Test,  an  able  and  popular 
Whig.  He  was  re-elected  in  1835,  defeating  Judge  George  H.  Dunn. 
In  Congress  Mr.  Lane  was  an  ardent  champion  of  Gen.  Jackson,  and 
won  the  title  of  "  The  "Wheel  Horse,"  so  ardently  and  zealously  did  he 
defend  the  hero  of  the  Hermitage.  As  a  popular  orator  Amos  Lane  had 
but  few,  if  any,  equals  in  the  West — Corwin  and  Clay  only  excepted.  He 
was  fully  six  feet  high,  of  erect  and  commanding  stature,  and  possessed  a 
voice  of  remarkable  force  and  power,  deep  and  full,  over  which  he  had 
complete  control.  His  language  was  ready  and  fluent,  and  being  master  of 
invective  in  a  marked  degree,  woe  unto  the  man  who  incurred  his  dis- 
pleasure. He  had  full  blue  eyes,  which  were  very  expressive  under 
all  circumstances,  but  when  he  was  aroused  by  feelings  of  emotion 
they  were  positively  piercing.  Frequently  he  would  close  his  teeth 
together,  and  talk  through  them  with  a  hissing  sound  that  would  almost 
make  one's  flesh  crawl.  Instantly  changing  his  manner,  his  voice  would 
become  soft  and  mellow,  coupled  with  the  most  touching  tones,  that 
would  draw  teai's  from  many  of  his  hearers.  Amos  Lane  was  abstemious 
in  his  habits,  so  far  as  the  use  of  alcoholic  liquors  were  concerned.  He 
was  never  known  to  be  intoxicated,  and  men  who  were  intimate  with 
him  say  he  did  not  drink  liquor  at  all.  Smoking  and  chewing  tobacco 
he  detested  all  through  his  life,  as  two  tine  rows  of  white  teeth  afiorded 
proof.  He  was  equally  abstemious  in  the  use  of  objectionable  language, 
never  indulging  in  either  profanity  or  vulgarity.  As  a  lawyer,  without 
being  the  most  learned  or  profound,  he  achieved  remarkable  success. 
Judge  W.  S.  Holman  said  of  him,  "He  was  a  man  of  strong  will;  at 
the  forum  or  on  the  stump,  he  neither  asked  nor  gave  quarter,  but  he 
commanded  an  eloquence  that  could  raise  a  hurricane  or  melt  his 
audience  to  tears."  He  died  September  2,  1849,  aged  seventy-one  years, 
and  was  buried  at  Lawrenceburgh. 


152  HISTORY  OF  DEAHBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

JUDGE  JESSE  L.  HOLMAN  was  born  at  Danville,  Ky. ,  October  24, 
1784.  During  his  infancy  his  father  was  killed  while  seeking  to  relieve 
a  block-house  beleaguered  by  hostile  Indians.  "With  few  opportunities 
for  instruction,  Jesse  L.,  by  persistent  efforts  obtained  an  English 
education,  and  in  later  life  became  accomplished  in  the  higher  mathe 
matics  and  in  general  literature.  Before  he  attained  his  majority,  under 
the  encouragement  of  Henry  Clay,  he  published  a  novel  in  two  volumes, 
entitled  "The  Errors  of  Education,"  which  obtained  a  large  circulation 
for  that  period.  He  studied  law  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  in  the  office  of 
Henry  Clay,  and  when  scarcely  of  age  commenced  its  practice  at  Port 
William,  now  Carrollton,  Ky.,  where  he  married  Elizabeth  Masterson, 
an  estimable  lady  of  superior  accomplishments.  In  1810  he  removed  to 
Indiana  Territory  and  built  a  cabin  on  the  range  of  hills  that  rise 
abruptly  from  the  Ohio  Kiver  south  of  Aurora,  and  to  this  new  home, 
which  he  called  "Veraestan,"  he  removed  his  family  in  the  same  year. 
They  brought  with  them  and  emancipated  a  large  family  of  slaves  which 
had  descended  to  Mrs.  Holman  from  her  father.  Here  he  cleared  his 
farm,  and  the  embellishment  of  his  beautiful  rural  home  was  to  him  a 
labor  of  love.  From  the  time  he  settled  in  Indiana  Territory  until  his 
death,  his  life  was  almost  uninterruptedly  devoted  to  the  public  service. 
In  1811  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Harrison,  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Dearborn  County.  In  1814  he  represented  that  county  in  the  Territorial 
Lecrislature  and  was  president  of  the  Legislative  Council,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Posey,  judge  of  the  Second  Judicial  Cir- 
cuit of  the  Territory.  In  1816,  on  the  admission  of  Indiana  into  the 
Union,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  supreme  judges  of  Indiana 
by  Gov.  Jennings,  and  remained  on  the  supreme  bench  fourteen  years. 
In  1831  he  was  defeated  in  the  Legislature  for  United  States  Senator  by 
only  one  vote,  although  the  Legislature  was,  politically,  strongly  against 
him.  In  1832  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  common  schools  of 
Dearborn  County.  In  1834  he  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson, 
United  States  Judge  for  the  District  of  Indiana,  and  held  that  office  un- 
til his  death,  March  28,  1842.  Justice  John  McLean  said  of  Judge 
Holman:  "Of  his  legal  research  and  acumen  he  has  left  enduring 
evidence,  but  what  most  excited  my  admiration  was  his  singleness  of 
purpose;  he  had  no  motive  but  to  discharge  his  public  duty  uprightly." 
Judge  Holman  was  a  Baptist  preacher,  and  for  years  was  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Aurora,  preaching  regularly  when  not  away  on  public 
duty.  He  organized  a  Union  Sunday-school,  believed  to  be  the  first  in 
the  State,  and  was  its  superintendent  up  to  his  death.  He  laid  out  the 
city  of  Aurora  and  was  active  in  the  establishment  of  Indiana  College, 
and  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  devoted  friends  of  Franklin  Col- 


THE  LEGAL   PROFESSION.  153 

lege.  No  man,  in  the  early  history  of  Indiana,  was  more  highly  respect- 
ed and  beloved  than  Jiidge  Jesse  L.  Holman.  One  who  knew  him  well, 
says:  "AVe  have  often  been  amused  when  traveling  through  the  coun- 
try, to  hear  honest-minded  farmers  speak  of  Judge  Holman,  and  with 
what  lively  recollections  they  would  refer  to  his  visits,  giving  day  and 
date;  and  often  have  we  heard  the  remark  that  this  (referring  to  some 
accident  or  occurrence)  took  place  the  fall  after  Judge  Holman  was  here, 
or  that  that  happened  a  year  or  two  years  after  Judge  Holman  visited  us 
and  stopped  over  night — making  his  visits  an  era  or  important  period  in 
the  history  of  the  family." 

JAMES  T.  BROWN  was  born  in  Mercer  County,  Ky.,  in  1795,  of  a 
Maryland  family.  He  came  bo  Indiana  Territory  with  his  father's 
family  about  1814,  and  grew  to  manhood  near  Madison,  receiving  the 
best  educational  advantages  then  ofifered.  AUer  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  he  practiced  in  Decatur  County,  and  soon  took  a  leading  position 
at  the  bar  of  southeastern  Indiana.  About  1838  he  came  to  Wilming- 
ton, and  practiced  with  success  in  Dearborn  County  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  man  of  extraordinary  intellectual  endowments  and  a  fine  lawyer, 
with  keen  wit,  inexhaustible  humor  and  great  vigor  and  terseness  of  ex- 
pression. There  are  those  yet  living  who  knew  him  well,  and  are  well 
qualified  to  give  a  just  estimate  of  his  abilities  and  learning,  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  rank  James  T.  Brown  as  a  great  lawyer  and  without  a  super- 
ior in  the  bar  of  his  time  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  He  was  a  very- 
eccentric  man  and  had  little  regard  for  the  customs  of  polished  society. 
A  fellow  member  of  the  bar  said  of  him  soon  after  his  death:  "He 
came  to  Dearborn  County  thirty  years  ago,  with  a  piercing  black  eye, 
a  great  bald  head,  an  old  coat,  and  no  «linen  exposed  to  view;  and  so  he 
remained  to  the  last;  yet  he  would  have  been  a  very  bold  or  a  very  reck- 
less man  who  would  have  dared  to  joke  the  old  gentleman  on  his  antique 
garments  or  his  contempt  for  ordinary  fashions."  He  never  married. 
He  died  at  Lawrenceburgh  in  1867. 

GEORGE  H.  DUNN  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  New  York  and  came 
to  Dearborn  County  about  1817,  an  active  young  man  of  pleasant  manners 
and  good  appearance.  He  possessed  the  qualities  which  enabled  him  to 
secure  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  people.  As  a  lawyer  he  was 
faithful  to  his  clients;  his  pleadings  were  exact;  his  language  chaste, 
and  his  manner  in  argument  kindly  and  conciliating,  but  his  well- 
rounded  sentences  were  less  effective  before  a  jury  of  plain  men  than 
the  sledge-hammer  manners  of  some  of  his  opponents,  yet  he  was  a 
lawyer  of  influence  and  few  men  had  sti'onger  and  more  lasting  friends. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1828,  1832  and  1833;  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from    1837  to  1839    and    State  treasurer   from   1841   to 


154  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1844.  He  and  Gov.  Bigger  revised  the  code  of  Indiana,  and  at  a  later 
period  he  served  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court.  While  he  was  in  the 
Legislature  the  charter  of  the  State  bank  and  its  branches  and  of  the 
railroad  from  Indianapolis  to  Lawrenceburgh  were  passed,  both  of  which 
were  principally  the  work  of  Mr.  Dunn.  July  4,  1833,  the  com- 
pletion of  the  first  mile  of  railroad  in  Indiana  was  celebrated  at  Shelby- 
ville  by  thousands  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  George  H.  Dunn  was 
the  hero  of  the  day.  Though  disappointment  followed  disappointment 
he  never  gave  up  the  enterprise  of  a  railroad  from  Lawrenceburgh  to 
the  State  capital.  To  his  untiring  zeal  under  every  possible  discourage- 
ment is  to  be  attributed  the  final  success  of  that  road.  To  him  alone 
belongs  the  credit  of  projecting  and  carrying  on  to  final  completion  that 
great  enterprise,  which  he  did  not  see  fully  accomplished  until  his  locks 
were  silvered  with  the  labors  of  many  years.  On  the  monument  over 
his  grave  is  appropriately  placed  the  representation  of  a  railroad  train. 
He  died  at  Lawrenceburgh,  January  12,  1854,  aged  fifty-seven  years. 

DANIEL  S.  MAJOR  was  born  in  Dearborn  County,  near  Harrison, 
September  6,  1808.  His  father,  Judge  William  Major,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  pioneers  of  the  West.  At  that  early  period  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio,  facilities  for  education  were  limited.  But  the  youth,  inspired 
by  a  manly  and  just  ambition  and  thirsting  for  knowledge,  will  sel- 
dom fail.  The  plough-boy  snatching  the  elements  of  learning  from  the 
school  books,  while  the  horse  rested  at  the  end  of  the  furrow,  or  spelling 
out,  with  unwearied  patience,  the  rudiments  by  the  blaze  of  the  hickory 
bark  on  the  winter  fire,  is  a  familiar  picture  to  the  land  blessed  with 
liberty. 

At  an  early  age  young  Major  entered  the  Miami  University  at  Oxford, 
Ohio.  A  vigilant  student,  displaying  in  early  life  the  patient  industry 
which  gave  so  marked  a  character  to  his  long  professional  career,  he 
graduated  with  the  full  honors  of  that  university  in  September,  1831, 
and  in  the  same  month,  buoyant  with  youth  and  hope,  he  entered  the 
clerk's  office  of  Dearborn  County,  as  a  deputy  clerk  and  student  of  law 
with  Gen.  Dill. 

He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  September  24,  1832.  In  a  few  years  he 
reached  the  front  rank  of  his  profession;  and  as  early  as  the  year  1842, 
in  commercial  law,  the  branch  of  jurisprudence  to  which  he  especially 
devoted  his  attention,  stood  at  the  head  of  the  bar.  At  this  early  day 
his  practice  extended  into  the  supreme  and  federal  courts  of  the  State; 
and  for  thirty  years  he  has  been  in  every  leading  case  tried  in  the  courts 
of  this  county. 

In  his  long  professional  life  Mr.  Major  was  a  model  of  patient  indus- 
try.    In    term   time    a    case  was  seldom  called,  where  he  appeared  for 


THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION.  155 

either  the  prosecution  or  defense,  without   finding   him    fully  prepared 
upon  the  law  and  the  facts. 

Mr.  Major  had  the  bearing  of  a  gentleman  trained  in  the  universi- 
ties. He  was  scrupulously  precise  and  formal  in  his  personal  bearing 
and  address,  dignified,  yet  courteous  and  aflfable;  his  mind  singularly 
well  balanced,  and  capable  of  long  and  intense  application — displaying 
more  strength  than  activity.  He  could  not  jump  at  conclusions,  or 
seize  them  intuitively,  but  reached  them  by  patient  and  persistent  mental 
effort.  He  would  not  be  hurried  in  the  conduct  of  a  cause,  but  brought 
out  patiently  and  persistently  every  fact;  and  pressed  every  consideration 
upon  the  court  or  jury  that  justice  to  his  client  required. 

As  an  advocate  Mr.  Major  was  strong,  clear  and  logical;  not  eloquent 
in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term,  seldom  embellishing  with  ornament  his 
speeches  to  court  or  jury;  but  generally  content  with  a  clean  and  forci- 
ble presentation  of  his  case.  His  utterance  was  clear  and  distinct.  He 
spoke  with  coolness  and  determination;  yet,  when  the  occasion  required, 
he  displayed  some  of  the  highest  powers  of  the  advocate. 

In  politics  he  was  a  Whig  and  afterward  a  Republican.  In  private 
life  he  was  a  man  of  spotless  reputation.  He  was  a  Christian  gentleman 
and  an  earnest  supporter  'of  the  benevolent  and  educational  enterprises 
of  his  age.  He  died  at  his  home  near  Lawrenceburgh,  on  a  beautiful 
spot  overlooking  the  Ohio,  just  forty  years  after  his  admission  to  the 
bar,  September  23,  1872.  An  elegant  and  beautiful  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory was  given  in  an  address  at  the  coart  house  by  Judge  William  S. 
Holman,  from  which  most  of  the  foregoing  sketch  has  been  obtained. 

EBENEZER  DUMONT  was  the  son  of  John  and  Julia  L.  Dumont, 
and  was  born  in  Vevay  in  1814.  At  about  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  came 
to  Dearborn  County,  and  established  himself  in  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1838  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
subsequently  held  the  office  of  county  treasurer.  At  the  breaking-out  of 
the  Mexican  war,  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fourth 
Indiana  Volunteers,  and  served  with  distinction  for  one  year,  participat- 
ing in  the  capture  of  Huamantla,  the  seige  of  Puebla,  and  numerous 
other  engagements.  Resuming  the  practice  of  law,  in  1851  he  was 
again  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  was  chosen  speaker. 
In  1852  he  was  elected  president  of  the  State  Bank  of  Indiana,  which 
position  he  filled  until  the  expiration  of  the  charter  of  the  bank  in  1858 
or  1859.  In  connection  with  this  office  he  was  president  of  the  board 
of  sinking  fund  commissioners,  which  office  he  held  at  the  breaking-out 
of  the  late  war.  On  the  organization  of  the  Seventh  Indiana  Regiment 
he  was  appointed  colonel,  served  with  distinction  during  the  three 
months'  campaign,  and  upon  the  reorganization  of  the  regiment  for  three 

9 


156  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

years'  service,  was  again  selected  for  the  satiie  position.  Soon  after  the 
battle  of  Greenbriar,  he  was  commissioned  brigadier-general,  and  assigned 
to  Kentucky.  His  health  being  so  poor  as  to  disqualify  him  for  service 
in  the  field,  in  1862  he  accepted  the  nomination  of  the  Republican  party 
of  the  Indianapolis  District  for  Congress,  and  served  two  terms.  A  short 
time  before  his  death  he  was  appointed  governor  of  Idaho.  He  died  at 
his  residence  in  Indianapolis,  April  17,  1871.  Gen.  Dumont,  as  a  law- 
yer, had  few  peers.  Before  a  jury  he  was  irresistible;  happy  in  illus- 
trations, he  brought  the  most  elaborate  arguments  to  the  comprehension 
of  the  dullest  mind.  "  With  organizing  genius,  fertility  of  expedient 
and  sleepless  mental  activity,  Ebenezer  Dumont  was  a  lawyer,  soldier 
and  gentleman,  whose  fame  will  never  equal  the  measure  of  his  merit." 
GEN.  BENJAMIN  J.  SPOONER  was  born  at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  October 
27,  1823,  his  parents  coming  from  New  Bedford,  Mass.  He  was  educated 
at  public  and  private  schools,  and  when  eighteen  years  old  apprenticed 
himself  to  learn  the  tanner's  trade.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican 
war  he  enlisted  for  a  year  in  Col.  Lane's  Indiana  Regiment,  and  was  a 
second  lieutenant.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  but  at  the  expi- 
ration of  his  term  of  service  left  the  army,  and  returning  to  Indiana  read 
law,  and  began  its  practice  in  Lawrenceburgh.  He  was  made  prosecu- 
ting attorney  of  the  circuit,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  politics  as  a 
Whig,  and  afterward  as  a  Republican.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil 
war  he  was  among  the  earliest  volunteers,  raising  the  first  company  in 
Dearborn  County,  and  as  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Seventh  Indiana  Reg- 
iment, he  took  part  in  the  West  Virginia  campaign  under  Gen.  Morris, 
where  the  first  battles  of  the  war  were  fought.  He  re- enlisted  at  the  end 
of  his  three  mouths'  service,  and  was  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fifty- first 
Indiana  under  Col.  Streight.  His  regiment,  attached  to  the  Twentieth 
brigade,  was  in  winter  quarters  in  Kentucky  in  1861-62,  and  in  the  spring 
was  attached  to  the  Sixth  Division  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Pittsburgh  Landing.  Col.  Spooner  was  with  the 
army  in  the  movements  around  Corinth,  and  after  that  resigned  and 
came  home.  He  then  recruited  the  Eighty-third  Regiment  and  was 
placed  in  command,  taking  part  in  all  the  engagements  in  and  around 
Vicksburg,  until  the  fall  of  that  place  in  the  summer  of  1863,  when, 
assigned  to  Gen.  Sherman's  army,  he  was  at  Chattanooga,  Lookout  Moun- 
tain, Resaca,  Dallas,  Dalton  and  Kenesaw  Mountain.  At  the  last  named 
place,  June  27,  1864,  Gen.  Spooner  was  wounded  in  the  left  arm  so  severely 
by  sharpshooters  that  amputation  was  necessaiy.  His  wound  unfitted 
him  for  active  service,  and  in  April,  1865,  he  resigned.  He  was  imme- 
diately appointed  United  States  Marshal  for  Indiana  by  President  Lin- 
coln, the  last  appointment  Mr.  Lincoln  made,  and  held  that  ofiice  until 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  157 

1879,  when  he  resigned.  In  the  railroad  strike  of  1877,  he  was  Urm  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  aided  much  in  restoring  order.  During 
the  war  he  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  after  the  battle  of  Mission  Eidge  he 
was  presented  a  handsome  sword  by  the  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates  of  his  regiment,  in  testimony  of  his  services  there  and  on  other 
fields.     He  died  at  Lawrenceburgh  April  8,  1881. 

JOHN  SCHWAETZ  was  born  in  Bavaria  in  1831  and  received  a  classi- 
cal education.  He  participated  in  the  Revolution  of  1848  and  was  com- 
pelled to  flee  from  his  native  land.  He  landed  in  New  York  in  1850,  and 
on  June  7,  1853,  arrived  at  Lawrenceburgh.  He  first  served  as  a  clerk  and 
book-keeper,  and  later  studied  law  under  James  T.  Brown.  About  1858 
he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Benjamin  J.  Spooner.  For  four  years 
he  was  mayor,  and  for  the  same  length  of  time  city  attorney.  He  enlisted 
in  the  civil  war  and  served  as  captain  one  year.  He  was  an  extensive 
reader,  and  had  a  large  and  well  assorted  library  of  miscellaneous  works, 
and  the  largest  law  library  in  the  county.  He  possessed  a  fine  legal 
mind  of  wonderful  analytical  power  and  scope,  and  was  able  to  unravel 
the  intricacies  of  the  law  with  a  facility  seldom  seen.  He  died  at  Law- 
renceburgh in  1881. 


CHAPTER  X. 
THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


Practice  of  Medicine  in  Pioneer  Times— The  Materia  Medic  a  of  the 
Early  Doctors— Early  Charges  for  Medical  Services— District 
Medical  Societies— Review  of  Epidemics— Character  of  the  Pio- 
neer Physicians— Sketches  of  Some  Deceased  Physicians. 

OWING  to  a  variety  of  causes  we  have  found  it  a  task  of  no  small 
difficulty  to  prepare  a  history  of  the  medical  profession  in  Dear- 
born and  Ohio  Counties.  We  have  not  the  data  to  be  derived  from  the 
records  of  a  medical  society  whose  existence  was  continued  through  a 
long  series  of  years.  It  is  to  be  regi-etted  that  some  one  of  the  early 
physicians  has  not  undertaken  to  give  us  an  account  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  medical  profession  in  Dearborn  County  when  that  county 
embraced  a  large  area  of  southeast  Indiana.  The  pioneers  of  this  pro- 
fession were  worthy  of  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of  their  county, 
and  such  sketches  of  these  men  as  we  have  collected  from  many  sources 


158  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

and  here  present  in  a  permanent  form,  will  be  prized  not  only  by  the 
intellif^ent  members  of  the  medical  profession  but  by  others  as  well.  If 
the  pioneer  physicians  of  this  part  of  the  Ohio  Valley  have  left  no  rec- 
ords of  their  practice  and  experience,  the  failure  should  not  surprise 
us.  Generally  they  were  not  men  of  scientific  attainmeots  or  even  of 
liberal  education.  The  state  of  society  in  which  they  lived  could  not  be 
favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  science  or  the  literature  of  their  profes- 
sion. 

In  order  to  realize  the 'difficulties  and  disadvantages  the  early  physi- 
cians labored  under,  it  is  necessary  to  cousider  the  times  in  which  they 
lived.  Dr.  Daniel  Drake,  of^Cincinnati,  in  an  address  on  "Early  Medi- 
cal Times,"  delivered  in  1852,  has  given  a  striking  picture  of  the  every- 
day life  of  the  pioneer  physician: 

"Every  physician  was  then  a  country  practitioner,  and  often  rode 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  on  bridle  paths  to  some  isolated  cabin.  Occa- 
sional rides  of  twenty  or  even  thirty  miles  were  performed  on  horseback, 
over  roads  which  no  kind  of  carriage  could  travel  over.  The  ordinary 
charc^e  was  25  cents  a  mile,  one  half  being  deducted,  and  the  other  paid 
in  provender  for  his  horse  or  produce  for  his  family.  These  pioneer 
physicians  were  moreover  their  own  bleeders  aud  cuppers,  and  practiced 
dentistry,  not  less,  certainly,  than  physic;  charged  a  quarter  of  a  dol- 
lar for  extracting  a  single  tooth,  with  an  understood  deduction  if  two  or 
more  were  drawn  at  the  same  time.  In  plugging  teeth  tin-foil  was  used 
instead  of  gold-leaf,  which  had  the  advantage  of  not  showing  so  con- 
spicuously. Still  further,  every  physician  for  the  first  twelve  or  fifteen 
years  was  his  own  apothecary,  and  ordered  little  importations  of  cheap 
and  inferior  medicines  by  the  dry  goods  merchants  once  a  year,  taking 
care  to  move  in  the  matter  long  before  they  were  needed.  From  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  days  was  the  required'time  of  transportation  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Brownsville,  and  as  much  more  by  river  to  Cincinnati.  Thus 
from  four  to  five  months  were  required  for  the  importation  of  a  medicine 
which,  at  this  time,  being  ordered  by  telegraph  and  sent  by  express,  may 
be  received  in  two  days,  or  a  sixtieth  part  of  the  time.  Thus  science 
has  lengthened  seconds  into  minutes.  The  prices  at  which  these  medi- 
cines were  sold  difi'ered  widely  from  those  of  the  present  day.  Thus  an 
emetic,  a  Dover's  powder,  a  dose  of  Glauber's  salt  or  a  night  draught  of 
Pareo-oric  and  Antimonial  Wine,  haustus  anodymis,  as  it  was  learnedly 
called,  was  put  at  25  cents,  a  vermifuge  or  blister  at  50,  and  an  ounce  of 
Peruvian  bark  at  75  cents  for  pale,  and  $1  for  the  best  red  or  yellow.  On 
the  other  hand  personal  services  were  valued  very  low.  For  a  bleeding, 
25  cents;  for  a  sitting  up  all  night,  $1,  and  for  a  visit,  from  25  to  50 
cents,  according  to  circumstances  or  character  of  the  patient. 


THE  iMEDICAL  PEUFESSION.  159 

Many  articles  in  common  use  then  have,  in  half  a  century,  been 
superseded  or  fallen  more  or  less  into  neglect.  I  can  recollect  balsam  of 
sulphur,  balsam  of  Peru,  Glauber's  salt,  flowers  of  benzoin,  Huxham's 
tincture,  spermaceti  (for  internal  use),  melampodium,  flowers  of  zinc, 
ammoniaret  of  copper,  dragon's  blood,  elemi,  gamboge,  bitter  apple,  nux 
vomica,  and  red,  pale  and  yellow  bark.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have 
.  gained  since  that  day  the  various  salts  of  quinine  and  morphine,  strich- 
nine,  creosote,  iodine  and  its  preparations,  hydi'ocyanic  acid,  ergot,  col- 
lodion, sulphate  ot  magnesia  and  chloroform. 

Indeed,  in  half  a  century  our  materia  medica  has  undergone  a  decided 
change,  partly  by  the  discovery  of  new  articles  and  partly  by  the  extrac- 
tion of  the  active  principles  of  the  old.  The  physician  often  carried 
medicines  in  his  pocket  and  dealt  them  out  in  the  sick  room;  but  the 
common  practice  was  to  return  home,  compound  and  send  them  out.  But 
few  of  you  have  seen  the  genuine  old  doctor's  shop  of  the  last  century, 
or  regaled  your  olfactory  nerves  in  the  mingled  odors  which,  like  incense 
to  the  god  of  physic,  rose  from  brown  paper  bundles,  bottles  stopped 
with  worm-eaten  corks,  and  open  jars  of  ointment,  not  a  whit  behind 
those  of  the  apothecary  in  the  days  of  Solomon.  Yet  such  a  place  is 
very  well  for  a  student ;  however  idle  he  will  be  always  absorbing  a  little 
medicine,  especially  if  he  sleeps  beneath  the  greasy  counter." 

EARLY    CHAKGES    FOR    MEDICAL    SERVICES. 

The  first  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Indiana  undertook  to  regulate 
the  compensation  of  physicians  for  professional  services,  and  to  prevent 
over-charging.  An  act  approved  December  24,  1816,  provides:  "It 
shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  physician  or  surgeon  to  charge  or  receive 
more  than  12^  cents  per  mile  for  every  mile  he  shall  travel  in  going  to, 
and  returning  home  from,  the  place  of  residence  (for  the  time  being)  of 
his  patient,  with  an  addition  of  100  per  cent  for  traveling  in  the  night." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  charges  recommended  by  the  Indiana  State 
Medical  Society  held  at  Cory  don  December  11,   1822: 

Visit 25    cents  toll  00 

Mileage ^  25 

Venesection 25    cents  to       50 


Pulv.  Febr. 


6i     "        m 


Emetics 12|        -  25 

Attendance  through  the  day $2  50  to  5  00 

night 5  00 

Obstetrics 5  qq 

Extracting  tooth 25 

Reducing  luxation 5  qO  to  10  00 

Amputation 30  00  to  50  00 


160  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


DISTRICT    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES. 

An  effort  to  establish  medical  societies  in  the  State  by  legislative 
enactment  was  made  at  an  early  period.  Section  1  of  act  approved  by 
Gov.  Jennings  December  24,  1816,  reads:  "Be  it  enacted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  that  for  the  purpose  of  regulat- 
ing the  practice  of  physic  and  surgery  in  this  State,  each  circuit  as  laid  ' 
off  for  holding  circuit  courts  shall  compose  one  medical  district,  to  be 
known  as  first,  second  and  third  medical  districts  in  the  State  of 
Indiana,  according  to  the  name  of  the  circuit."  It  was  further  provided 
in  this  act  that  in  each  district  there  should  be  a  board  of  medical  cen- 
sors, who  were  required  to  admit  to  merabftrship  every  physician  or  sur- 
geon residing  or  wishing  to  practice  in  the  district,  who  should,  "  on 
examination  before  them,  give  proof  of  their  qualification  to  practice 
either  profession  and  reasonable  evidence  of  their  moral  character." 

An  act  approved  January  18,  1820,  organized  four  medical  districts, 
and  gave  the  State  Medical  Society  authority  to  establish  as  many  addi- 
tional as  it  might  deem  expedient. 

The  State  Medical  Society  was  first  organized  in  1820,  and  held  its 
meetings  at  Corydon.  then  capital  of  the  State,  until  1826,  when  it  met 
at  Indianapolis. 

The  act  of  1816,  above  referred  to,  named  as  censors  for  the  third 
district,-  in  which  Dearborn  County  was  included,  Drs.  Jabez  Percival, 
D.  F.  Sackett,  D.  Oliver,  John  Howe  and  Ezra  Ferris,  and  authorized 
them  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Walter  Armstrong,  in  the  town  of  Law- 
renceburgh,  on  the  fii'st  Monday  in  June,  in  the  year  1817,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  licensing  physicians.  Dr.  Sackett,  who  was  appointed  a  member 
of  this  board,  then  resided  at  Salisbury.  No  evidence  has  been  found 
to  show  that  this  board  of  censors  ever  met  to  carry  out  the  purposes  for 
which  they  were  appointed. 

An  act  of  the  Legislature,  approved  January  30, 1830,  says  in  its  pre- 
amble, that  owing  to  defects  in  the  previous  law,  the  medical  societies 
existing  have  never  been  legally  organized,  and  that  the  provisions  of  the 
law  have  not  induced  a  large  portion  of  qualified  men  to  become  mem- 
bers of  any  medical  society,  or  been  sufficient  to  guard  against  the 
licensing  of  unqualified  persons.  The  new  act  provided  that  district 
medical  societies  may  be  composed  of  all  persons  of  good  moral  character 
residing  in  their  respective  districts,  who  have  been  regularly  licensed  to 
practice  medicine  in  the  State,  or  have  been  reputable  practitioners  in 
the  State  for  two  years  next  preceding  the  passage  of  the  act,  or  who  have 
graduated  at  any  regular  medical  college  in  the  United  States. 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  161 

HISTORY     OF     EPIDEMICS.* 

"The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  put  on  record  a  brief  review  of  the 
epidemics  that  have  prevailed  in  southeastern  Indiana,  or  more  partic- 
ularly in  Dearborn,  Ripley  and  Ohio  Counties,  during  the  last  fifty  years, 
and  also  to  direct  your  attention  to  the  changes  which  have  taken  place 
in  our  endemic  malarial  diseases.  Of  several  of  the  epidemics  we  allude 
to  no  notice  has  yet  been  published. 

"The  first  epidemic  we  direct  your  attention  to  was  an  epidemic  of 
cholera  in  Dearborn  County,  which  occurred  in  1833.  This  was  before 
I  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine,  but  as  the  facts  have  never  yet 
been  published,  and  I  have  obtained  them  from  a  reliable  source,  and 
they  are  still  remembered  by  many  of  our  old  citizens,  I  take  the  liberty 
of  presenting  them. 

"A  steamboat  ascending  the  Ohio  River  in  the  month  of  May,  1833, 
landed  near  the  mouth  of  Tanner's  Creek  to  bury  one  of  the  deck  hands 
who  had  died  of  cholera.  Two  men,  one  an  old  citizen  of  Dearborn 
County,  by  the  name  of  Page  Cheek,  were  fishing  near  the  place  this 
boat  landed.  The  officers  of  the  boat,  seeing  these  men,  employed  them 
to  bury  this  body,  which  they  did.  All  the  next  day  Cheek,  who  lived 
near  the  mouth  of  Wilson's  Creek,  about  a  mile  from  Tanner's  Creek, 
plowed  in  the  corn-field,  apparently  well,  but  during  the  night  he  was 
suddenly  attacked  with  cholera,  and  died  after  a  short  illness.  His 
brother-in-law,  Eli  Green,  went  with  his  wife  to  the  funeral.  They  re- 
sided near  Hartford,  about  six  miles  from  Cheek's  residence.  Within  a 
week  both  Green  and  his  wife  died  with  cholera,  and  in  a  few  days  after 
their  deaths  three  of  their  children  also  died,  making  five  deaths  out  of 
this  family  of  seven  persons.  The  disease  spread  through  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  soon  appeared  at  Aurora,  where  a  large  number  of  deaths  oc- 
curred, among  the  number  some  of  the  most  prominent  citizens.  It  is 
impossible  now  to  ascertain  the  number  of  deaths  which  occurred,  as  no 
account  of  this  epidemic  in  Dearborn  County  was  ever  published.  The 
disease  was  regarded  at  that  time  as  being  new,  and  the  epidemic  as  be- 
ing the  most  fatal  that  had  ever  visited  this  part  of  the  country. 

"In  1838  the  Laughery  Valley  was  visited  by  a  malignant  form  of 
malarial  fever,  different  from  anything  that  I  have  seen  since,  with  the 
exception  probably  of  a  few  sporadic  cases.  Intermittents  were  prevalent 
that  autumn  over  the  whole  country,  but  along  this  valley  we  had  a 
modification  of  remittent,  with  what  we  regarded  at  that  time  as  con- 
gestive fever.  The  patient  would  be  seized  by  a  slight  chill,  followed 
almost  immediately  by  profound  coma  or  congestion  of  some  organ,  and 


162  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

very  frequently  died  before  a  physician  could  be  procured.  In  other 
cases  the  chill  was  followed  by  fever,  delirium  and  great  irritability  of 
the  stomach.  There  was  generally  in  such  cases  a  remission,  but  no  well- 
marked  intermission.  The  skin  and  conjunctiva  assumed  in  a  few  days 
a  yellowish  or  jaundiced  appearance.  These  cases  we  regarded  at  that 
time  as  bilious  remittent  fever,  but  we  probably  had  every  form  and  type 
of  malarial  fever  in  this  locality,  such  as  simple  intermittent  fever,  re- 
mittent fever,  bilious  fever,  and  pernicious  or  congestive  fever  ip  various 
forms,  and  I  think  I  can  safely  say  that  every  family  residing  along  this 
valley  for  eight  miles  from  the  Ohio  River  were  more  or  less  unwell,  and 
in  many  families  all  were  bedfast. 

"We  have  annually,  at  the  present  time,  autumnal  and  intermittent 
fevers  in  various  forms,  but  I  never  see  now  cases  of  pernicious  con- 
gestive fever,  or  even  bilious  fever,  similar  to  what  we  had  at  that  period 
along  the  Laughery  Valley.  The  country  was  then  new,  the  land  was 
exceedingly  rich,  there  were  extensive  swamps  and  a  dense  forest,  except 
around  the  log-cabins  of  the  inhabitants.  Since  then  the  valley  has  been 
cleared,  the  swamps  drained,  and  the  land  cultivated,  and  the  congestive 
fevers,  which  were  occasionally  seen  fifty  years  ago,  have  disappeared. 

"In  1842  and  1843  epidemic  erysipelas  prevailed  indifferent  parts  of 
the  United  States.  It  made  its  appearance  in  southeastern  Indiana  in 
the  winter  of  1842  and  1843.  It  was  known  by  the  popular  names  of 
black  tongue,  sore  throat,  swelled  head,  etc.  We  heard  of  it  prevailing 
in  Ripley  County  as  a  malignant  disease,  and  before  it  reached  Aurora, 
in  Dearborn  County,  we  heard  that  a  physician,  who  resided  toward  the 
western  portion  of  the  county,  had  died  of  the  black  tongue,  The  phy- 
sician residing  at  Wilmington  had  a  severe  attack.  I  was  called  to  attend 
him,  which  placed  at  once  a  large  number  of  his  patients  under  my  care, 
and  I  soon  had  extensive  experience  with  the  disease,  which  gave  me  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  it  in  all  its  varieties. 

"  In  the  month  of  July,  1843,  after  we*had  seen  notices  in  the  news- 
papers that  influenza  was  prevailing  as  an  epidemic  in  Pennsylvania, 
New  York,  Massachusetts  and  other  Eastern  States,  it  suddenly  made  its 
appearance  in  southeastern  Indiana,  and  within  a  few  days  after  it  first 
appeared  a  very  large  proportion  of  our  inhabitants  were  under  its  influ- 
ence. The  disease  itself  was  seldom  fatal,  but  it  occasionally  gave  rise  to 
other  diseases  which  were  attended  with  danger,  and  the  origin  of  a 
number  of  cases  of  phthisis  pulmonalis  was  attributed  to  this  epidemic. 

"In  1848  we  had  a  remarkable  epidemic  of  scarlet  fever.  During  the 
time  that  I  had  been  practicing  medicine  I  had  had  considerable  exper- 
ience with  scarlatina;  the  cases  were  generally  mild  with  a  few  exceptions. 
This  year,  however,  we  saw  the  disease  in  a  new  form.      We  heard  of  its 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  163 

prevalence  in  Switzerland  County,  and  were  informed  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  children  had  died  from  the  disease.  It  was  supposed  to  have  been 
brought  to  Aurora  by  the  boy  who  carried  the  mail,  as  he  had  but 
recently  recovered  from  an  attack  of  scarlatina.  Two  children  were  taken 
unwell  on  the  same  day;  they  resided  in  the  same  part  of  the  town,  but 
in  different  houses.  They  both  died  within  a  short  time  of  each  other, 
and  the  disease  spread  through  the  city.  It  presented  a  variety  of 
symptoms.  In  some  instances  the  violence  of  the  disease  was  concen- 
trated upon  the  throat,  in  others  upon  the  brain,  producing  convulsions 
or  coma;  in  other  cases  the  patient  seemed  to  sink  as  if  from  a  shock, 
and  in  other  cases  there  was  violent  gastro-enteric  irritation — vomiting 
aud  purging,  with  but  little  rash.  An  account  of  this  epidemic  was  pub- 
lished in  the  North  American  Medico- Chirurgical  Review. 

"  In  1856  scarlet  fever  again  prevailed  in  southeastern  Indiana  and 
at  Aurora  as  an  epidemic,  but  this  time  in  so  mild  a  form  as  scarcely  to 
require  medical  treatment.  AVhy  should  the  disease  appear  at  the  same 
place,  apparently  under  the  same  circumstances,  at  one  time  in  so 
malignant  a  type,  and  at  another  in  so  mild  a  form? 

"In  the  spring  of  1849  cholera,  which  was  prevailing  as  an  epidemic 
in  the  United  States,  made  its  appearance  in  Aurora,  and  assumed  its 
most  malignant  form.  It  for  a  time  was  principally  confined  to  a  small 
section  of  our  town,  including  the  portion  in  which  I  resided,  which  was 
the  most  dry  and  elevated,  and  was  regarded  as  the  most  healthy  part  of 
our  city.  In  this  section  of  the  town  there  seemed  to  be  an  accumulation 
of  infection,  for  more  than  half  the  inhabitants  died.  I  was  suddenly 
attacked  with  the  disease  while  attending  patients  in  the  night,  and  my 
whole  family,  one  after  another,  was  taken  down.  My  eldest  son  died 
after  only  a  few  hours'  illness,  and  my  youngest  child  sank  to  what 
appeared  the  lowest  stage  of  collapse  from  which  a  patient  could  recover. 
In  watching  the  progress  of  this  epidemic,  it  appeared  to  me  that  chol- 
era, like  other  diseases,  presented  a  diversity  of  symptoms,  and  that  the 
diarrhoea  that  generally  accompanies  this  disease,  and  at  that  time  was 
regarded  as  only  a  premonitory  symptom,  was  in  reality  a  form  of  chol- 
era, which  occasionally  gave  rise  to  the  most  malignant  cases. 

"  Following  the  cholera  a  malignant  form  of  dysentery  prevailed  as  an 
epidemic.  As  it  appeared  in  some  instances  to  be  intimately  associated 
with  cholera,  appearing  among  our  rural  population  immediately  after 
the  introduction  of  well-marked  cases  of  cholera,  I  regarded  it  as  but  one 
of  the  modifications  of  this  disease.  We  have  never  had  an  epidemic  of 
contagious  malignant  dysentery  similar  to  what  we  had  at  that  time, 
except  during  or  immediately  after  the  prevalence  of  cholera. 

"Cholera  pi'evailed  as  an   epidemic  in   southeastern  Indiana  in  1854, 


164  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1866  and  1873.  There  were  not  as  many  cases  in  these  visitations  as  there 
were  in  1849,  which  we  thought  was  due  to  the  rigid  system  of  disinfec- 
tion which  was  adopted,  particularly  so  in  1866  and  1873,  and  also  to 
the  patients  being  more  isolated. 

"  From  1836  to  1856  we  occasionally  had  epidemics  of  a  disease 
which  was  known  in  those  days  as  milk  sickness.  This  disease  was  con- 
fined to  a  section  of  Dearborn  County,  between  six  and  seven  miles  in 
length  and  three  or  four  in  breadth,  extending  from  what  is  known  as 
King's  Ridge  in  a  southerly  direction  to  near  Hartford.  This  was  prob- 
ably the  most  dry  and  elevated  portion  of  Dearborn  County,  and  that 
portion  of  the  county  most  free  from  intermittent,  remittent  or  malarial 
fevers.  During  these  epidemics  the  cattle  died  in  this  [^locality  with  a 
disease  known  by  the  name  of  'trembles.'  Some  farmers  lost  nearly  all 
their  stock.  This  sickness  and  loss  of  cattle  caused  a  depreciation  in  the 
value  of  the  farms  in  this  section  of  the  county.  The  premonitory 
symptoms  of  this  disease  were  a  remarkable  feeling  of  lassitude,  loss  of 
appetite,  headache,  coated  tongue,  and  a  burning  sensation  in  the  epi- 
gastric region.  After  a  variable  period  these  symptoms  were  followed 
by  nausea  and  frequent  vomiting  and  a  low  grade  of  fever  of  a  continuous 
type,  and  in  all  cases  there  was  obstinate  constipation.  The  fluid  vom- 
ited was  generally  mucous,  'tinged  of  a  dark  or  greenish  color.  There 
was  seldom  a  well-marked  chill,  neither  was  there  a  well-marked 
intermission  in  the  fever.  The  fever  was  nearly  always  of  a  low 
grade.  I  am  well  aware  that  writers  have  regarded  milk  sickness 
as  only  a  modification  of  our  malarial  fevers,  but  it  appears  to 
me  that  this  disease  must  arise  from  some  cause  entirely  different 
from  the  malaria  that  produces  our  intermittent  fevers,  for  in 
southeastern  Indiana  milk  sickness  occurred  in  that'  portion  of  the 
country  where  malarial  diseases  were  not  known,  while  along  the  valley  of 
the  Laughery,  where  malarial  diseases  were  the  most  malignant,  milk 
sickness  never  occurred  and  the  cattle  did  not  die  with  the  'trembles.' 

"  For  the  last  twenty  years  I  have  not  heard  of  a  well-marked  case  of 
milk  sickness  in  this  section  of  the  country  where  the  disease  was  at  one 
time  so  common,  neither  have  I  heard  of  cattle  dying  of  the  '  trembles.' 
The  country  has  since  been  cleared,  the  ground  cultivated,  and  milk 
sickness  and  the  disease  amongst  the  cattle  known  as  '  trembles '  have 
entirely  disappeared.  The  land  which  was  once  depreciated  in  value  on 
account  of  these  diseases,  is  now  ranked  amongst  the  most  valuable  in 
Dearborn  County.  This  is  additional  evidence  that  the  removal  of  the 
forests  in  many  localities,  so  far  from  being  an  evil,  is  conducive  to 
health. 

"  It  was  many  years  after  I  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  before 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  165 

I  saw  a  case  of  cerebro-spinal  meningitis.  Now  we  occasionally  have 
cases,  and  the  disease  is  probably  on  the  increase.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  diphtheria. 

"In  1862  we  had  an  epidemic  of  purpura,  generally  known  by  the 
name  of  spotted  fever,  in  which  there  were  a  number  of  deaths.  Some 
of  the  patients  died  within  twenty-four  hours  from  the  first  symptoms  of 
the  attack. 

"Within  the  last  forty  years  we  have  had  very  remarkable  diseases 
amongst  the  inferior  animals.  The  epizootic  amongst  the  swine,  known 
as  hog  cholera,  has  destroyed  thousands  upon  thousands  of  these  animals. 
The  epizootic  amongst  the  horses  in  1873,  is  so  recent  as  to  be  familiar 
to  all 

"Looking  back  then  over  a  period  of  nearly  fifty  years,  we  have  seen 
in  southeastern  Indiana  a  number  of  epidemics,  and  have  seen  our 
malarial  diseases  assume  different  forms  and  undergo  very  marked 
changes." 

THE  PIONEER  PHYSICIANS. 

The  earlier  physicians  who  practiced  in  Dearborn  County  when  it 
included  several  counties  of  the  present  time,  were  of  the  heroic  school 
and  made  liberal  use  of  the  lancet  and  calomel.  In  their  treatment  they 
relied  largely  on  purging,  bleeding,  blistering  and  salivation.  The 
quantities  of  calomel  used  by  some  of  the  old  physicians  are  sufficient  to 
startle  the  modern  scientific  practitioner. 

While  some  of  these  earlier  physicians  were  men  of  good  natural 
abilities  and  were  leading  men  in  their  communities,  few  of  them  had 
received  a  degree  from  a  medical  school  or  from  any  institution  of 
learning.  In  their  youth  medical  instruction  was  chiefly  given  in  the 
irregular  form  of  medical  pupilage.  In  some  sections  a  system  of 
apprenticeship  existed,  the  young  medical  pupil  being  indentured  for  a 
period  from  three  to  seven  years.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  pupilage, 
the  preceptor  signed  a  certificate  which  supplied  the  place  of  a  diploma 
As  late  as  1825  there  were  but  two  medical  colleges  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  During  his  pupilage  the  young  medical  student  learned  to 
compound  medicines  for  his  preceptor  and  to  grind  quicksilver  into 
unguentum  mercuriale,  but  the  facilities  for  instruction  were  meager 
compared  with  those  of  the  present  day.  There  were  few  good  medical 
libraries;  periodical  medical  literature  was  in  its  infancy;  work  in  the 
chemical  laboratory  was  not  expected  of  the  student,  and  practical 
anatomy  was  made  a  felony  by  statute,  the  populace  being  inimical  to 
dissection,  a  mob  rising  against  it  as  late  as  1820. 

DR.  JABEZ  PERCIVAL  was  born  in  1759  and  died  in  1841.  His 
former  residence  was  near  New  Amsterdam,  N.  Y.     Just  what  his    early 


166  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

advantages  were  in  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  his  profession,  the  writer 
is  not  informed.  He  practiced  medicine  for  some  time  previous  to 
removing  West.  He  came  to  Lawrenceburgh  in  1801.  The  connty  being 
new  and  sparsely  settled,  he  practiced  over  a  large  extent  of  country. 
He  was  favored  with  an  iron  constitution  and  will.  These  sustained 
him  in  great  exposure  and  labor,  incident  to  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
that  day.  It  is  believed  he  did  not  refuse  to  attend  to  calls  from  any 
class  of  persons,  night  or  day.  He  thought  little  of  the  ornate  in  his 
profession;  the  tastes  of  the  fastidious  were  not  much  consulted  in  the 
administration  of  medicines.  Adjuvants  as  placebos  to  remedies,  in 
heroic  practice,  were  not  very  numerous.  Notwithstanding  he  was 
thought  to  be  skillful;  to  have  real  merit  as  a  physician  and  surgeon. 
He  seemed  to  be  quite  at  home' in  surgery,  if  he  did  call  the  dura-mater 
the  striffin  of  the  brain,  and,  when  he  thought  necessary,  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  perform  even  capital  operations.  He  possessed  many  pe- 
culiar traits  of  character,  and  was  a  man  of  great  courage  as  well  as 
endurance.  We  here  give  several  incidents  as  illustrations:  At  one 
time  he  was  thrown  from  his  horse,  resulting  in  the  dislocation  of  one 
hip-joint.  Several  persons  gathered  around,  offering  their  assistance. 
He  refused  their  help,  crept  to  a  fence  and  got  upon  his  horse  and  rode 
home,  without  the  reduction  of  the  head  of  the  femur.  He  was  chosen, 
and  for  a  time  acted  as  magistrate.  A  Mr. ,  a  man  of  great  phys- 
ical power,  often  exhibited  it  in  fighting  with  such  as  he  supposed 
thought  themselves  his  equal.  Having  broken  the  peace,  the  constable 
an3  by-standers  were  commanded  to  arrest  him.  They  feared  to  take 
hold  of  the  desperado.  This  did  not  suit  the  doctor-squire.  He  com- 
menced upon  the  refractory  man,  but  as  the  Doctor  advanced,  he  received 
a  lick  with  a  bludgeon  that  broke  his  right  arm.  Nothing  daunted, 
though  much  the  smaller  man,  he  seized  the  culprit  with  his  left  hand, 
and  held  him  until  the  sight  of  his  heroism  brought  sufHcient  assistance 
to  secure  him.  Another  incident:  In  the  days  when  there  were  fugi- 
tives from  labor,  there  were  also  cases  of  kidnapping.  Several  persons 
of  African  descent  had  been  arrested  and  taken  on  a  boat.  Those  who 
held  them  threatened  to  shoot  any  person  who  attempted  their  rescue. 
No  one  seemed  willing  to  take  the  risk  of  interfering.  The  Doctor 
believed  they  were  kidnapped,  entered  upon  the  boat  and  took  them  from 
their  claimants.  Another  case  of  a  different  character,  in  the  exercise  of 
his  official  functions:  At  a  time  when  engaged  in  driving  oxen,  a  gen- 
tleman and  lady  rode  up  and  informed  the  Squire  that  they  desired  to 
be  married.  He  asked  to  see  the  license.  Looking  up,  he  inquired: 
"Do  you  promise  to  live  together  till  death  shall  part  you?"  Answer, 
"Yes."     "I  pronounce  you  husband  and  wife.  Gee,  Buck;  get  up!"  Dr. 


THE  MEDICAL  PEOFESSION.  167 

John  Percival,  son  of  Jabez  Percival,  had  probably  better  opportunities 
for  thorough  medical  education  than  his  father.  We  are  unable  to  say 
whether  he  was  a  graduate  or  not.  One  of  his  nephews,  with  whom  we 
have  spoken  on  the  subject,  thinks  he  was.  He  is  said  to  have  attended 
lectures  at  Troy,  N.  Y.  He  practiced  medicine  for  some  time  in  con- 
nection with  Dr.  Grubbs,  at  Burlington,  Ky.  He  afterward  moved  to 
Lawrenceburgh  in  1825.  He  continued  here  in  reputable  practice  till 
about  1837.  He  moved  to  Missouri,  and  probably  died  about  1841, 
from  injury  to  the  spine,  the  efifects  of  a  fall. 

DR.  EZRA  FERRIS  was  born  at  Stanwich, Conn.,  April  26,1783.  His 
father,  who  was  also  a  native  of  that  village,  six  years  after  the  birth  of 
Ezra,  determined  to  emigrate  to  the  far  West.  The  enterprise  at  that 
time  was  so  novel  and  daring  that  it  drew  together  a  number  of  people 
to  witness  the  departure.  Dr.  Ferris,  in  his  old  age,  wrote  that  although 
he  was  only  six  years  old  at  the  time,  he  had  a  distinct  and  vivid  recol- 
lection of  the  occasion.  His  father,  September  20,  1789,  with  his 
family,  and  accompanied  by  two  other  families,  took  their  departure.  As 
the  little  party  of  emigrants  took  their  seats  in  wagons  and  moved  down 
the  road,  they  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  on  every  side  ready  to  pre- 
dict that  they  would  either  fall  a  sacrifice  to  savage  cruelty  or  be 
drowned  in  descending  the  Western  rivers.  But  nothing  could  overcome 
the  courage  of  the  little  company.  Their  route  was  along  the  road  on 
the  north  side  of  Long  Island  Sound  to  New  York  City,  thence  through 
New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  and  over  the  Allegheny  Mountains  to  the 
Monongahela  River;  thence,  by  boats  to  Fort  Miami,  about  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  where  they  arrived 
December  12,  1789,  having  been  two  months  and  twenty  days  on  the 
journey.  There  were,  at  that  time,  some  thirty  or  forty  families  living 
in  the  fort,  without  the  restraints  of  civil  law  and  destitute  of  almost 
all  kinds  of  provisions  except  such  as  could  be  obtained  from  the  woods, 
in  which  hovered  the  hostile  savages.  An  apartment  in  the  fort,  about 
sixteen  feet  square,  was  assigned  to  the  family,  in  which  they  resided 
for  a  time.  The  first  five  years  Ezra  Ferris  spent  at  Columbia  were 
during  the  horrors  of  an  Indian  war.  He  saw  the  dejection  of  the 
spirits  of  the  pioneers  when  Harmar's  expedition  failed  and  St.  Clair 
was  disastrously  defeated,  and  participated  in  the  rejoicing  over  Wayne's 
victory.  He  has  given  a  vivid  picture  of  the  hardships  and  deprivations 
the  settlers  at  Columbia  were  compelled  to  undergo  during  this  period. 
"Many  of  them,"  he  says,  "had  been  raised  in  opulence  and  had  in- 
dulged in  luxuries  and  enjoyed  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  now  removed 
far  from  their  former  homes,  where  nothing  but  the  most  common  fare 
could  be  had,  and  that  often  in  stinted  measure,  were  cast  down  though 


168  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

not  forsaken.  Add  to  the  want  of  bread,  the  mortification  an  Ameri- 
can mother  (who  had  been  at  all  times  in  the  habit  of  clothing  her  chil- 
dren comfortably,  and  sometimes  ornamenting  them  to  please  her  fancy), 
must  feel  to  see  them  clad  in  rags  and  dirt,  for  the  want  of  materials  to 
make  new  clothes  of,  or  soap  to  wash  them  when  dirty,  and  you  will  see 
enough  to  discourage  and  distress  them." 

Ezra  Ferris  had  the  benefit  of  such  schools  as  could  be  supported  at 
Columbia  during  the  Indian  war,  and  after  the  return  of  peace,  ob- 
tained  a  good  education.  When  a  young  man  he  studied  in  a  good 
school  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  his  education  was  quite  a  liberal 
one  for  the  son  of  an  early  western  emigrant.  When  quite  a  young  man 
he  was  licensed  as  a  Baptist  preacher  at  the  Duck  Creek  Baptist  Church 
and  was  afterward  ordained.  He  also  studied  medicine.  For  some 
years  he  taught  a  school  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  when  he  removed  to  Law- 
renceburgh  and  there  practiced  medicine  and  also  preached  to  the  desti- 
tute Baptist  churches  of  that  vicinity.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  formed  the  first  constitution  of  Indiana,  and  in  that 
body  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  elective  franchise  and  elec- 
tions. He  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature.  On  the 
organization  of  the  State  Government  he  was  appointed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture one  of  the  censors  for  licensing  physicians  in  the  third  medical 
district.  Before  he  became  an  old  man  he  retired  from  the  active  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  but  continued  his  drug  store.  He  also  continued  to 
preach  at  Lawrenceburgh  and  at  Salera. 

Dr.  Ferris  was  a  most  useful  man.  He  was  modest  and  retiring,  but 
highly  respected  by  all.  He  was  sti-ongly  attached  to  his  own  branch  of 
the  church  and  was  a  sincere  and  deeply  pious  man.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Whig.  He  was  a  man  of  fixed  principles  and  his  friends  always  knew 
where  to  find  him.  In  1851  he  published  a  series  of  articles  on  the 
early  settlement  of  the  Miami  Valley.  A.  H.  Dunlevy,  in  his  History  of 
the  Miami  Baptist  Association,  wrote:  "Elder  Ferris  knew  more  of  the 
early  history  of  the  Miami  country  than  any  man  living  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  was  not  a  man  to  be  prejudiced,  as  is  too  often  the  case, 
so  as  to  form  unjust  opinions  or  give  undue  coloring  to  any  transactions 
related  by  him."  The  reader  will  find  in  this  work  copious  selections 
from  his  writings.  Dr.  Ferris  was  twice  married.  He  died  at  Lawrence- 
burgh, April  19,  1857. 

DR.  JEREMIAH  H.  BROWER  was  born  in  New  York  City  in  1798. 
He  was  descended  from  one  of  those  Dutch  families  that  immigrated  to  the 
colony  in  an  early  period  of  its  history,  and  aided  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  its  present  greatness.  His  father  was  a  physician,  and  educated 
his  son  for  the  profession  of  his  choice.     It  is  believed  that  for  a  year  or 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  169 

more  he  enjoyed  the  superior  advantages  of  the  private  tutelage  of  that 
eminent  surgeon  and  physician,  the  elder  Mot.  In  the  year  1819  the 
family  immigrated  to  the  West,  and  settled  in  Indiana;  the  father,  Abra- 
ham Brower,  in  Lawrenceburgh,  and  the  son  at  Elizabethtown,  Ohio, 
where  they  were  respectively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  their  profession. 
Dr.  Jeremiah  H. Brower  assumed  his  field  of  labor,  in  which  he  continued 
in  an  active  and  exclusive  practice  until  within  a  year  or  two  of  his 
death.  The  above  dates  show  that  Dr.  Brower,  for  a  period  of  thirty- 
five  years,  was  in  active  and  extensive  practice  in  the  city  in  which  he 
died.  To  the  practice  of  this  profession  he  brought  #more  than  an  ordi- 
nary share  of  learning,  zeal  and  native  ability.  As  a  man,  a  citizen,  as  a 
physician,  in  line,  in  all  the  relations  of  life  he  discharged  his  varied 
obligations  to  society  in  a  manner  creditable  to  himself  and  useful  to  the 
community  in  which  he  lived,  so  that  himself  and  his  friends  could  say 
without  ostentation,  that  the  world  was  better  and  wiser  for  his  having 
lived  in  it.  Commencing  his  professional  life  as  early  as  1819,  he  was 
closely  identified  in  interest  and  community  of  feeling  in  all  of  the  so- 
cial, moral  and  educational  enterprises  of  the  community,  always  a  prom- 
inent and  self-sacrificing  laborer  for  their  advancement,  and  his  name 
and  memory  will  be  long  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  trusting 
and  confiding  community  in  which  he  lived  and  labored.  His  ardent 
patriotism  and  characteristic  benevolence  were  illustrated  in  his  readi- 
ness to  abandon  the  comforts  of  home  and  a  lucrative  practice  to  hasten 
to  the  bloody  battle-field,  to  the  reeking  and  malarious  hospital  ship,  to 
aid  and  comfort  the  brave  and  dying  defenders  of  an  imperiled  country. 
Among  the  medical  men  of  Indiana,  with  whom  he  had  a  large  and  inti- 
mate acquaintance,  his  abilities  early  pointed  him  out  as  a  fit  person  to 
be  honored  with  the  presidency  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Society,  a 
trust  that  he  discharged  with  credit  to  himself  and  usefulness  to  the  pro- 
fession. Dr.  Brower's  naturally  feeble  constitution  at  this  period  of  life, 
was  impaired  by  his  visit  and  exposures  in  the  South  in  1865.  He  re- 
turned with  greatly  impaired  health  and  strength  to  the  duties  of  his 
practice,  but  his  constitution  had  received  a  shock  from  which  he  never 
fully  recovered.  He  died  August  1,  1866,  aged  sixty-eight  years,  and 
was  buried  at  Lawrenceburgh. 

DR.  DAVID  FISHEH  was  born  in  the  State  of  Vermont  about  the 
year  1780.  But  little  is  known  of  his  early  education,  or  at  what  time  he 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine,  or  whether  he  was  a  graduate  of  any 
medical  college,  but  he  acquired  a  good  medical  education  and  obtained 
a  certificate  of  qualification  from  a  medical  board  of  examiners  in  Ver- 
mont and  practiced  his  profession  in  that  State  until  1812.  He  then  im- 
migrated to  Peru,  N.  Y.,  and  practiced  his  profession  at  that  place  until 


170  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1818.  He  then  removed  to  Coshocton,  Ohio,  and  remained  there  a  little 
over  a  year.  He  next  immigrated  to  Wilmington,  Jnd.,  and,  a  few  years 
afterward,  to  Aurora.  He  was  one  of  the  company  that  purchased  the 
ground  and  assisted  in  laying  out  the  plat  of  the  town  of  Aurora.  He 
purchased  Lots  153  and  154,  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Water  Streets; 
here  he  erected  what  was  considered  in  those  days  a  large  building,  and 
kept  a  hotel.  This  was  carried  on  in  connection  with  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  which  often  extended  for  ten  or  twenty  miles  into  the  country. 
He  resided  in  Aurora  until  about  1826  or  1828,  when  he  removed  to  a 
farm  back  of  Rising  Sun.  On  this  farm  he  resided,  occasionally  chang- 
ing his  residence  to  Rising  Sun,  until  1845,  when  he  was  disabled  by  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy,  which  incapacitated  him  for  the  active  duties  of  his 
profession.  In  January,  1851,  he  received  another  stroke  of  apoplexy, 
and  died  quietly  at  his  home  in  Rising  Sun.  As  a  physician  he  was 
faithful;  neither  bad  roads  nor  stormy  weather  kept  him  from  visiting  his 
patients.  He  was  remarkable  for  the  correctness  of  his  diagnosis  and 
was  opposed  to  active  depletion  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  As  a  man 
he  was  noted  rather  for  strong  natural  sense  than  culture,  yet  he  was 
always  a  diligent  reader  of  standard  medical  books.  He  was  a  zealous 
member  of  a  district  medical  society  which  had  been  organized  in  this 
portion  of  the  State,  and  which  continued  in  existence  until  about  1825. 
DR.  MATHIAS  HAINES  was  born  in  Raymond,  N.  H.,  Decem- 
ber 30,  1786.  His  earlier  years  were  spent  on  a  farm,  during  the 
summer  months  assisting  his  father.  In  the  winter  he  attended  the 
common  schools.  When  near  the  age  of  manhood  he  obtained,  by  his 
own  efforts,  the  advantages  of  a  year  or  two  at  the  academy  in  Peacham, 
Vt,  after  which  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Sheed,  of 
Peacham,  Vt.  On  completing  the  prescribed  course  of  study,  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  northern  part  of  Vermont. 
In  1816,  in  company  with  his  twin  brother,  he  came  West,  riding  all  the 
way  on  horseback,  and  located  in  Rising  Sun,  which  at  that  time  was 
within  the  bounds  of  Dearborn  County.  Dr.  Haines  was  a  member  of 
the  society  of  Free  Masons,  and  as  early  as  1819,  in  company  with  others, 
organized  a  lodge  in  Rising  Sun,  and  continued  an  active  member  during 
his  life.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Brower,  at  Lkwrenceburgh,  October 
22,  1822.  In  the  winter  of  1845-46,  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Rising  Sun,  and  soon  after  was  elected  an  elder,  and  as  such 
frequently  represented  the  church  in  the  Presbyteries,  and  also  as  dele- 
gate of  the  Presbytery  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  United  States.  In 
the  spring  of  1846  from  failing  health  and  repeated  and  severe  attacks 
of  illness,  he  gave  up  the  active  duties  of  his  profession  and  removed  to 
a  farm  about  two  miles  from  the  city,  where  he  lived    for   six    or  seven 


S:S^^Sg5*?««*i^ 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  173 

years;  he  then  sold  his  farm  and  removed  back  to  Rising  Sun,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred  January  21,  1863,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-seven  years  and  twenty-one  days.  Dr.  Haines  was  active  and 
liberal  in  promoting  the  intellectual  improvement  of  the  community. 
His  efforts,  in  common  with  others,  to  advance  the  educational  interests  of 
the  city,  resulted  in  building  a  house  for  an  academy  which  was  popular 
and  very  successful  for  many  years  until  superseded  by  our  present  system 
of  common  schools.  Dr.  Haines  was  an  affable  and  courteous  gentleman, 
a  true  Christian  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  for  forty  years  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  as  a  safe  and  able 
physician. 

DR.  HENRY  J.  BOWERS  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1801.  His 
father  was  an  Episcopal  minister  and  gave  his  son  a  good  English  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  twenty  he  immigrated  to  Dearborn  County,  settled  at 
Lawrenceburgh,  and  commenced  the  study  of  medicine.  In  1822  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Rispah  Morgan,  at  Lawrenceburgh.  In  1824  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Moore' s_Hill,  and  soon  after  bought  a  farm 
near  this  place,  portions  of  which  were  in  Dearborn  and  Ripley  Counties, 
the  farm  being  on  the  dividing  line.  His  residence  was  in  Ripley 
County  and  office  in  Dearborn.  In  1856  he  built  a  large  residence  near 
Moore'sHill,  in  Dearbord  County,  and  resided  at  this  home  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  January,  1866,  aged  sixty-five.  He  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  in  Ripley  County  in  1840,  andre-elected  twice,  and 
was  also  elected  twice  to  the  Senate.  In  1850  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  convention  to  revise  the  State  constitution.  He  took  great  inter- 
est in  the  erection  of  the  Moore's  Hill  College  and  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal stockholders  in  the  building.  Dr.  Bowers  was  remarkable  for  his 
energy.  He  was  a  good  political  speaker,  popular  in  his  manners,  and 
had  an  extensive  practice  both  in  Dearborn  and  Ripley  Counties. 

DR.  NELSON  HORATIO  TORBET  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  the 
year  1800.  He  studied  the  profession  of  medicine  in  Philadelphia  and  mi- 
grated directly  from  that  city  to  Wilmington,  Dearborn  Co.,Ind.  At  this 
place  he  practiced  his  profession  for  more  than  forty  years.  He  was  pop- 
ular in  his  manners  and  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1834 — also  was 
elected  treasurer  of  the  county  in  1844.  While  on  a  visit  to  Kansas,  in 
1873,  he  contracted  diseases  which  terminated  his  life  at  the  age  of 
seventy- three.  At  one  period  he  had  an  extensive  practice,  embracing  a 
circuit  of  many  miles  over  the  rough  country  around  Wilmington.  He 
was  a  jovial  companion  and  was  always  regarded  as  an  honest  man. 

DR.  BASIL  JAMES  was  born  in  Frederick  County,  Md.,  in  1797,canie 
to  the  West  with  his  father's  family  in  1807,  first  stopping  at  Lawrence- 
burgh, but  for  educational  purposes  the   family  removed  to  Cincinnati 


174  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

and  remained  two  years.  In  1812,  on  account  of  Indian  troubles,  the 
family,  excepting  the  father  and  his  eldest  sou,  Pinkney,  were  taken  to 
Louisville,  Ky.,  for  security,  whore  they  remained  until  the  fall  of  1813, 
when  all  the  family  finally  settled  in  Ohio  County.  Dr.  James  was 
identified  with  Rising  Sun  from  its  foundation,  his  father  being  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  place.  He  practiced  medicine  here  during  all  the 
active  years  of  his  life,  giving  up  the  profession  only  a  few  years  before 
his  death  on  account  of  age  and  feebleness.  Paralysis  came  upon  him 
about  1875,  and  although  he  recovered  to  some  extent,  yet  he  continued 
comparatively  helpless,  and  died  August  8,  1877. 

DR.  ROBERT  GILLESPIE  was  a  native  of  Leith,  Scotland,  where  he 
was  born  in  1793.  He  graduated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  Ch.  M.  (Master  of  Surgery).  In  1819  he  immigrated  to 
America  and  settled  in  Cass  Township,  Ohio  County,  then  in  Dearborn 
County,  where  he  practiced  medicine  with  success  until  his  death.  Dr. 
Gillespie's  opportunities  for  medical  instruction  were  much  superior  to 
those  enjoyed  by  most  of  his  associates.  He  was  considered  a  leading 
physician  and  surgeon  in  Ohio  and  adjoining  counties,  and  he  enjoyed  an 
enviable  reputation  both  professionally  and  socially.  He  died  in  1846. 
Dr.  William  Gillespie,  of  Rising  Sun,  is  his  son. 

DR.  HUGH  T.  WILLIAMS  was  born  in  Breckinridge  County,  Ky., 
May  27,  1812,  and  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Otho  Williams.  He  graduated  at 
the  Louisville  Medical  Institute  in  1842.  He  practiced  medicine  at 
Helena,  Ark.,  until  1845,  when  he  removed  to  Rising  Sun,  where  he  re- 
sided until  his  death,  most  of  the  time  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of 
medicine.  His  practice  was  large  and  lucrative.  In  the  last  years  of  his 
life  he  practiced  his  profession  in  connection  with  his  son.  Dr.  Hugh 
D.  Williams.  He  was  largely  identified  with  the  growth  and  enterprise 
of  Rising  Sun,  and  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  council  and 
school  board.  He  represented  Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties  one  term 
in  the  Legislature,  and  during  the  war  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Morton 
draft  commissioner  and  enrolling  officer  of  Ohio  County.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  Dr.  Williams  was  possessed  of  a  strong  mind  and  was  a 
well-informed  man.  He  died  December  22,  1879,  leaving  an  only  son 
and  a  large  number  of  relatives  to  mourn  their  loss. 

DR.  MYRON  H.  HARDING  was  born  August  7,  1810,  in  the  town  of 
Williamson,  Ontario  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  was  the  second  son  of  David  Hard- 
ing, who  in  1820  emigrated  from  New  York  to  Ripley  Couhty,  Ind. 
Myron  Holly  Harding  attended  the  pioneer  schools  of  Ripley  County, 
and  worked  at  chopping,  piling  brush  and  burning  log  and  brush  piles, 
sometimes,  on  moonlight  nights,  working  with  his  brothers  in  the  clear- 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  175 

ing  until  a  late  hour.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  became  a  school 
teacher  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine 
under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Cornett,-  of  Versailles.  After  studying  one 
year  he  successfully  stood  the  examination  before  the  Medical  Society  of 
Dearborn  County.  He  then  practiced  as  a  licentiate  until  the  year  1837, 
when  he  graduated  at  the  Ohio  Medical  College.  He  subsequently 
located  at  Lawrenceburgh,  where  he  continued  in  the  successful  practice 
of  his  profession  until  his  last  sickness.  His  practice  was  extensive, 
and  his  skill  and  learning _in  his  profession  were  never  questioned. 
He  was  the  author  of  some  valuable  articles  in  the  medical  journals. 
He  served  as  president  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Society  and  of  the 
Dearborn  County  Medical  Society.  He  took  a  warm  interest  in  the 
progress  of  medical  science  and  was  a  member  of  the  American  Medical 
Association  and  an  honorary  member  of  the  California  State  Medical 
Society.  Dr.  Harding  was  a  remarkable  man.  First  he  was  a  man  of 
one  work,  a  faithful  servant  of  the  community  in  his  profession.  He 
was  a  most  devout  man,  and  faithful  husband  and  father.  His  wife  and 
children  occupied  the  tenderest  place  in  his  affection,  their  adversity  his 
sorrow,  their  prosperity  his  delight.  He  was  a  true  citizen  and  unhesi- 
tatingly identified  himself  upon  the  side  he  thought  best  and  right.  A 
defender  of  all  moral  principles,  you  knew  just  where  you  would  find 
him,  because  he  was  a  man  of  clear  convictions  and  had  the  courage  of 
them.  In  the  midst  of  all  the  activities  of  a  courageous  manhood,  on 
the  5th  of  June,  1885,  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis.  He  lingered  on 
through  the  passing  months  until  September  18,  1885,  when  his 
death  occurred.  His  remains  were  interred  in  Greendale  Cemetery  at 
Lawrenceburgh.  Such  are  the  mere  outlines  of  the  life  of  a  self-made 
and  self-educated  physician,  whose  indomitable  will  and  unblemished 
moral  character  deserved  the  high  success  which  crowned  the  career  of 
Myron  Holly  Harding,  M.  D.  In  1838  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Lucy  S.  Plummer,  who  died  in  1864  In  1865  he  was  joined  in  mar- 
riage to  Mary  A.  Hill.  To  him,  by  his  first  marriage,  were  born  six 
children,  three  now  living — Isadora  H. ,  Laura  F.  and  David  Arthur. 


176  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

JOURNALISM. 

Dearborn  Gazette— Indiana  Oracle— Indiana  Oracle  and  'Dearborn 
Gazette— Indiana  Palladium— The  Western  Statesman— Politi- 
cal Beacon— Remarks  on  Milton  Gregg  and  David  V.  Culley— 
Indiana  Whig— Indiana  Patriot— Dearborn  County  Register- 
Indiana  Whig— Indiana  Register— Democratic  Register— Inde- 
pendent Press— Union  Press— Lawrenceburgh  Press— Remarks 
on  0.  B.  ToRBETT— The  Rising  Sun— Rising  Sun  Times— Rising  Sun 
Times  and  Journal- Remarks  on  Isaac  Stevens— Remarks  on 
Alex  E  Glenn— Rising  Sun  Journal— Indiana  Patriot— Dear- 
born County  Register— Remarks  on  Elder  William  P.  Stratton— 
Indiana  Blade— Remarks  on  the  Co vingtons— Indiana  Whig- 
Remarks  ON  Robert  T.  Moore— Rising  Sun  Herald— Rising  Sun 
Mirror- Hoosier  Patriot— Indiana  Republican— Xeutral  Pen- 
ant— Weekly  News— Indiana  Weekly  Visitor— The  Hoosier 
Paper— Observer  and  Recorder- Recorder— Ohio  County  Re- 
corder—Rising SunRecorder— Saturday  News— Rising  Sun  Local  • 
—General  Remarks. 

THE  first  newspaper  published  in  Dearborn  Connty  was  styled  the 
Dearborn  Gazette,\>\ih\\shed  at  Lawrenceburgh  in  1817,  by  B.  Brown, 
a  Yankee;  the  office  was  in  a  little  brick  building  owned  by  James 
Hamilton,  located  on  the  rear  end  of  the  lot  on  which  is  now  known  as 
the  residence  of  Mr.  John  B.  Vail.  The  motto  of  the  paper  was  "Equal 
and  exact  justice."  The  printer  of  the  establishment  is  remembered  to 
have  been  Steele  Sampson. 

We  have  before  us  Vol.  I,  No.  5,  of  the  Indiana  Oracle,  which  bears 
date  of  September  29,  1819,  "printed  and  published  every  Wednesday 
morning  by  Dunn  &  Russell."  The  Oracle  was  a  four  column  folio  and 
in  size  about  18x10  inches.  Just  how  long  the  Indiana  Oracle  vfas  pub- 
lished by  Messrs.  Dunn  &  Russell  we  cannot  say,  but  it  was  under  their 
management  at  the  close  of  the  first  volume,  which  was  with  the  issue  of 
October  3,  1820,  when  there  was  no  indication  of  their  withdrawal.  The 
next  record  evidence  we  have  is  that  No.  119,  Vol.  Ill  of  the  Oracle  appeai-s 
under  date  of  September  21,  1822,  "printed  and  published  weekly  by 
Dunn  &  M'Pike,  which  with  issue  of  July  19,  1823,  came  out  under  the 
title  of  the  Indiana  Oracle  and  Dearborn  Gazette,  so  it  is  likely  that  the 
Dearborn  Gazette  had  been  in  existence  during  these  years  and  at  this 
time  was  consolidated  with  the  Oracle. 


JOURNALISM.  177 

The  successor  to  the  Oracle  and  Gazette  was  the  Indiana  Palladium, 
the  first  number  of  which  was  issued  Friday,  January  7,  1825, 
printed  and  published  by  M.  Gregg  and  D.  V.  Culley,  being  of  the  same 
size  as  all  of  its  predecessors.  The  Palladium  flew  the  motto  "Equality 
of  rights  is  nature's  plan — And  following  nature  is  the  March  of  Man." 
In  the  salutatory  it  was  stated  "We  profess  ourselves  Republicans, 
warmly  attached  to  the  best  interests  of  our  country;  and  pledge  our- 
selves to  publish  a  paper  founded  upon  purely  Republican  principles, 
uncontrolled  by  faction,  and  unbiased  by  party  spirit.  Divesting  ourselves 
of  everything  like  sectional  partialities  and  local  predjudices — our  paper 
shall  be  devoted  exclusively  to  the  benefit  of  ourselves  and  the  public  in 
general. "  *  * 

Of  the  Palladium  and  the  men  connected  with  it,  C.  F.  Clarkson 
wrote  in  1883: 

•*  The  first  permanent  newspaper,  from  which  there  has  been  contin- 
uously a  live  paper  issued,  was  started  January  10,  1825,  by  Milton 
Gregg  and  David  V.  Culley,  called  the  Indiana  Palladium.  They  were 
both  able  writers  and  practical  printers.  The  office  was  originally  located 
in  the  second  story  of  what  was  called  fifty-five  years  ago  the  '  bank 
building,'  being  west  of  and  adjoining  the  old  residence  of  father  Isaac 
Dunn.  In  the  summer  of  1829,  the  proprietors  built  a  one-story  office 
further  east  on  the  continuation  of  High  Street,  opposite  the  residence  of 
that  sturdy  old  citizen  William  Tate.  They  continued  to  publish  the 
Palladium,  making  it  a  spirited  and  interesting  paper,  until  September 
12,  1829,  when  owing  to  some  unfortunate  difficulties  Mr.  Gregg  sold 
out  to  Mr.  Culley,  who  continued  to  publish  it  until  he  was  appointed  to  a 
position  in  the  land  office  at  Indianapolis,  by  President  Jackson.  Mr. 
Culley  was  a  decided  Democrat,  while  Milton  Gregg  was  a  National 
Republican,  which  was  pi-evious  to  the  day  when,  at  the  suggestion  of 
James  Watson  Webb,  the  party  took  the  name  of  W^hig. 

"  The  writer  went  into  the  Palladium  office,  September  21.  1828,  as  an 
apprentice,  but  retired  from  it  with  Mr.  Gregg.  So  long  as  Gregg  & 
Culley  published  the  Palladium,  it  was  independent  in  politics,  but  when 
Culley  assumed  entire  control,  it  espoused  the^cause  of  Jackson  and  De- 
mocracy. Mr.  Gregg  at  once  commenced  preparations  to  start  a  National 
Republican  paper,  which  he  did  in  the  second  story  over  the  old  Ferris 
drug  store,  corner  of  High  and  Short  Streets,  then  occupied  by  Prichard 
&  Noble,  for  drugs.  The  paper  was  commenced  March  10,  1830,  and 
was  called  The  Western  Statesman.  Previous  to  this  time,  there  had 
been  various  vicissitudes  with  papers  at  Brookville,  Ind.,  the  last  by  Au- 
gustus Jocelyn.  Gregg  purchased  of  Mr.  Joeelyn  the  Brookville  printing 
materials.      They  were  old  and  badly  broken  in  sorts.     Mr.  Gregg  sent  a 


178  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

wild  Hoosier  teamster  for  the  printing  establishmjent,  who  laid  a  quilt  on 
the  floor  and  emptied  all  the  cases  on  it — all  sizes  and  varieties  of  types 
in  one  inglorious  'pi.'  John  W.  Holland,  who  lived  and  flourished  at 
Indianapolis  long  after,  and  if  living  yet,  will  vividly  recollect  aiding 
the  writer  in  distributing  the  'pi.'  It  took  three  weeks.  C.  F.  Clark- 
son,  who  had  commenced  his  apprenticeship  with  Gregg  &  Culley,  finished 
it  in  the  office  of  the  Statesman.  That  was  a  hard  time  for  newspapers. 
The  people  were  poor,  just  opening  their  farms,  and  mail  routes  and  post- 
offices  scarce.  A  part  of  our  apprenticeship  was  to  ride  horseback  Friday 
and  Saturday  every  week  to  distribute  the  papers  to  subscribers.  The 
route  was  down  by  Aurora,  Rising  Sun,  then  north  to  Watts'  Mill,  then 
up  by  old  Charles  Dashiel's,  around  by  Manchester,  etc.,  home — leaving 
packages  of  papers  in  twenty  or  thirty  places.  Mr.  Gregg  continued  to 
publish  the  Statesman  but  a  few  weeks  by  himself.  He  sold  out  a  half 
interest  on  the  28th  of  April,  1830,  to  Thomas  Dowling,  an  able  writer 
and  shrewd  politican  from  Washington  City,  who  had  learned  his  trade 
and  politics  in  the  old  National  Intelligencer  office.  Dowling  i  became  a 
prominent  man  in  Indiana  politics— standing  high  socially  and  finan- 
cially. He  died  a  few  years  ago  at  Terre  Haute.  He  Tylerized  in  1842, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  got  a  fat  Indian  contract,  which  made  him  finan- 
cially comfortable  for  life. 

"Gregg  &  Dowling  continued  in  partnership  only  till  November  2, 
1830,  when  the  latter  retired  and  bought  the  Greensburg  paper.  At  that 
time  one  A.  F.  Morrison  was  editor  of  the  Democratic  paper  at  Indian- 
apolis. He  was  considered  the  strongest  political  writer  in  the  State,  and 
the  small  fry  of  all  parties,  though  not  respecting,  feared  him.  Dowling 
fearlessly  bearded  him.  It  was  one  of  the  fiercest  and  probably  the 
ablest  newspaper  warfare  ever  waged  in  Indiana. 

"Mr.  Gregg  continued  to  publish  the  Statesman  until  the  spring  of  1831. 
John  Spencer,  who  was  then  sheriff  of  Dearborn  County,  having  been 
appointed  receiver  of  public  moneys  at  the  land  office  at  Fort  Wayne, 
resigned  the  sheriff's  office.  At  that  time  Noah  Noble  was  governor  of 
Indiana,  and  he  appointed  Milton  Gregg  sheriff.  At  that  day  public 
officers  performed  the  duties  of  the  office  in  person,  instead  of  doing  as 
now,  having  deputies  to  transact  the  business,  while  they  smoke  cigars, 
talk  politics,  and  prepare  for  re-election,  or  to  succeed  to  a  better  office. 
"  Mr.  Gregg  being  engrossed  with  the  sheriff's  office,  in  which  there 
was  more  money  than  publishing  a  paper,  abandoned  the  office  entirely, 
yet  in  his  name.  He  gave  the  editorial  and  mechanical  department  over 
to  the  writer  hereof,  then  only  twenty  years  of  age.  During  the  year  I 
purchased  it  of  Mr.  Gregg,  with  the  understanding  that  possession  was 
to  be  given  at  the  close  of  the  newspaper  year,  which  was  March  8,  1832. 


JOURNALISM.  179 

I  published  the  paper  by  myself  until  March  8,  1833,  when  I  sold  one- 
half  to  D.  S.  Major.  In  July,  of  the  same  year,  the  other  half  was  sold 
to  J.  R.  Smith,  who  was  a  worthless  vagabond,  and  soon  left  for  parts 
unknown.  The  paper  then  had  a  precarious  existence  for  some  time 
under  Major's  administration,  who,  as  a  lawyer,  had  enough  to  do  without 
a  newspaper." 

No.  1,  Vol.  II,  of  the  Statesman  was  a  five  column  folio  and  flew 
this  motto,  "The  Constitution,  Wisdom,  Justice,  Moderation,"  and  was 
issued  March  18,  1831,  by  Milton  Gregg. 

Mr.  Clax'kson,  on  assuming  the  management  of  the  paper,  in  the  pros  ■ 
pectus  said:  "The  great  principles  which  this  press  shall  maintain  will 
be  those  of  the  Union,  of  the  American  system,  and  of  internal  improve- 
ments. *  *  *  *  It  will  support  for  the  next  Presi- 
dency, Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  and  for  Vice-President  John  Sergeant, 
of  Pennsylvania.''  For  a  time,  in  1832,  while  Mr.  Gregg  was  serving  as 
sheriff,  Judge  Test  edited  the  Statesman,  and  in  an  editorial  said:  "I 
have  ever  been,  and  always  expect  to  be,  the  devoted  (perhaps  some  will 
say  the  enthusiastic)  advocate  of  those  great  national  principles,  sound 
principles  of  Union,  of  the  American  system,  and  of  internal  improve- 
ments, until  maintained."  Under  date  of  March  15,  1833,  Mr.  Major 
set  forth  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  rights  of  secession.  "That  a  State 
has  a  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  whenever  she  becomes  dissatis- 
fied with  any  of  the  measures  of  the  general  Government,  I  cannot  ad- 
mit. *  *  *  J  1jq1(J  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  State  sov- 
ereignty, nor  a  sovereignty  in  the  general  Government.  *  *  * 
For  let  the  doctrine  of  nullification  and  secession  once  prevail,  and  all 
the  wisdom,  talent,  zeal  and  patriotism  in  our  government  cannot  save 
the  Union.  Like  the  pestilential  blast,  it  will  sweep  over  our  land,  and 
leave  the  dilapidated  walls  of  the  once-fair  fabric  of  our  Republican 
Government  the  blasted  monumeirt  of  our  folly."           *  *  * 

With  the  issue  of  October  9,  1833,  Mr.  Major  withdrew  from  the 
Statesman,  leaving  Mr.  Smith  the  sole  publisher  until  the  following 
spring. 

After  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Gregg's  term  of  oflfice  as  sherifi",  he  en- 
gaged for  a  time  in  flat-boating  and  trading  on  the  river,  but  again  re- 
turned to  his  profession,  and,  it  is  said,  in  1837  began  the  publication 
in  Lawrenceburgh  of  a  paper  entitled  the  Political  Beacon.  No.  1,  of 
Volume  III,  bears  the  date  of  October  26,  1839.  This  paper  he  published 
until  1844,  when  he  sold  to  Messrs.  Dunn  &  Watts.  On  the  25th  of 
January,  1840,  said  the  editor  of  the  Beacon:  "Our  banner  is  thrown 
to  the  breeze,  on  whose  broad  folds  are  inscribed  the  names  of  Harrison 
and  Tyler,  and  in  their  cause,  and  for  the  interest  of  our  common  country, 


180  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

we  shall  expect  to  do  battle  in  such  a  manaer  as  to  prove  to  the 
world  that  we  are  no  lukewarm  politiciansi"  Still  later,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1840,  appeared  the  following  extract:  "That  we  are  zealous 
in  politics,  and  ardently  devoted  to  the  success  of  Whig  principles,  we 
admit;  but  that  we  would  attempt  to  carry  our  point  by  misi'epresenting 
facts  to  the  prejudice  of  our  political  opponents,  is  a  charge  which  we 
desire,  at  all  times,  indignantly  to  repel! — and  no  man  shall  lay  it  at 
our  door  with  impunity.  Our  cause  is  founded  upon  the  immutable 
principles  of  justice  and  truth;  and  upon  this  broad  basis,  and  this  alone, 
we  desire  to  see  it  stand  or  fall,  'Truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail.'  " 
From  Lawrenceburgh  Mr.  G-regg  went  to  Madison,  and  finally  to  New 
Albany,  Ind.,  where  he  died  some  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago.  "He  mar- 
ried, December  25,  1828,  Miss  Lucy  B.  Dennis,  then  one  of  the  prettiest 
women  I  ever  saw.  They  raised  a  model  family  of  children,  but  parents 
and  children  are  all  dead,  except  the  youngest  daughter,  who  now  lives 
in  Des  Moines,  Iowa." 

David  V.  Culley  died  in  Indianapolis  in  1869;  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1804,  receiving  the  greatest  part  of  his  schooling  at  or  in  the 
vicinity  of  Franklinton,  where  he  also  acquired  the  rudiments  of  his 
trade — printing.  About  1821,  he  removed  to  Elizabethtown,  Ky.,  where 
his  father  was  residing,  and  where  he  finished  his  trade.  Subsequently 
he  was  at  Corydon  and  at  Brookville,  and  in  1824  removed  to  Lawrence- 
burgh. Here  he  was  married  to  a  Miss  Brown,  and  in  1825,  in  connec- 
tion with  Milton  Gregg,  established  the  Indiana  Palladium,  but  in  time 
political  differences  separated  them.  Mr.  Culley  served  in  both  branches 
of  the  General  Assembly  from  Dearborn  County,  and  in  1836  was  made 
register  of  the  land  ofi&ce  by  Van  Buren,  removed  to  Indianapolis,  and 
in  1851  served  as  president  of  the  gas  company. 

A  paper  styled  the  Indiana  Whig  was  started  in  Lawrenceburgh  in 
1834.  No.  6  of  Vol.  I  appeared  under  date  of  May  24,  edited  by  John 
McPike.  Nothing  further  that  is  definite  of  this  paper  have  we  been 
able  to  learn. 

John  B.  Hall,  in  September,  1839,  succeeded  Elder  W.  P.  Stratton 
in  the  publication  of  the  Rising  Sun  Journal,  which  paper,  under  date 
of  October  10,  1840,  appeared  as  the  Indiana  Patriot,  in  which  Mr. 
Hall  stated  that  he  had  sold  the  office  to  Mr.  G.  M.  Childs,  and  discon- 
tinued the  publication  of  the  Journal.  The  Patriot  was  to  be  Whig  in 
politics.  December  5,  1840,  Mr.  Childs  withdrew  from  the  publication 
of  the  Patriot,  and  was  succeeded  by  J.  B.  Kent.  This  office  was 
removed  to  W^ilmington,  and  under  date  of  March  27,  1841,  appeared  at 
Wilmington,  Vol.  I,  No.  1,  of  the  Dearborn  County  Register,  neutral  in 
politics,  published  by  J.  B.  Kent.     It  has  been  stated  in  print  that  the 


JUURNALISM.  181 

Dearborn  County  Register  was  suspended  at  the  end  of  the  first  year, 
and  the  office  and  fixtures  sold  to  B.  B.  Root,  who  continued  the  publi- 
cation at  Wilmington,  of  a  paper  styled  the  Indiana  Whig,  until  1844, 
when  the  office  was  removed  to  Lawrencebui'gh,  where  it  was  continued 
by  B.  B.  Root  and  James  S.  Jelley  until  the  close  of  that  year,  when  it  was 
suspended,  and^the  office  and  fixtures  bought  by  John  B.  Hall,  who,  for 
the  second  time,  began  the  publication  of  the  Register.  Again  it  has 
been  stated  that,  in  the  fall  of  1844,  Mr.  Root  sold  the  Whig  to  Mr. 
John  B.  Hall. who  changed  the  name  to  the  Indiana  Register,  and  in  the 
following  year  moved  the  paper  to  Lawrenceburgh,  and,  purchasing  the 
Political  Beacon,  consolidated  the  papers  under  the  name  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Register.  In  1850  Mr.  Hall  sold  the  Register  to  George  W.  Lane, 
who,  in  1851,  sold  it  to  Messrs.  Oliver  B.  Tarbett  and  Charles  C.  Scott. 
These  gentlemen  continued  to  publish  it  two  years,  and,  in  1853,  sold  it 
to  Addison  Bookwalter,  who  published  it  until  in  1871 — his  valedictory 
appearing  in  issue  of  January  6.  Mr.  Bookwalter's  successor  was 
Edward  F.  Sibley,  who  continued  its  publication  until  in  1877 — his  val- 
edictory appearing  under  date  of  Max'ch  8.  In  the  same  issue  ap- 
peared the  salutatory  of  the  Democratic  Register  Printing  Company. 
On  the  29th  of  March,  of  the  same  year,  appeared  the  valedictory  of 
J.  H.  Burkam  and  the  salutatory  of  W.  D.  H.  Hunter  and  W.  H. 
O'Brien,  who  have  since  conducted  the  paper.  From  the  foregoing  it  is 
seen  that  the  Democratic  Register  is  the  lineal  successor  of  the  Dear- 
born County  Register,  established  at  Wilmington  in  1841.  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin V.  Gould,  now  foreman  in  the  printing  department  of  the  Register 
office,  seems  almost  a  part  of  the  establishment,  in  as  much  as  he  entered 
the  office  as  an  apprentice  in  1856,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  short 
period,  has  been  identified  with  the  printing  of  the  Register  as  foreman 
through  that  long  period  of  years. 

October  18,  1850,  was  issued  the  first  number  of  a  newspaper  in  Law- 
renceburgh, styled  the  Independent  Press,  published  by  H.  L.  Brown 
and  James  E,  Goble,  and  edited  by  O.  B.  Torbett.  The  Press  was  a 
seven  column  folio.  August  22,  1851,  the  Press  was  sold  to  Rev.  W.  W. 
Hibben,  who,  on  the  9th  of  |June,  1852,  associated  with  him  J.  P. 
Chew,  a  pi-actical  printer  and  foreman  of  the  office,  as  assistant  editor. 
On  the  20th  of  October  following,  Mr.  Chew  became  the  proprietor  and 
editor  of  the  paper,  and  conducted  t  until  April  12,  1856,  when  he  sold 
to  E.  F.  Sibley,  then  publishing  the  Aurora  Standard,  who  combined 
the  two  papers,  which  were  suspended  in  1857. 

For  several  years  following  1857,  with,  perhaps,  a  short  interim,  a 
Republican  paper  continued  to  be  issued  at  Lawrenceburgh,  with  differ- 
ent persons  at  its  head,  among  whom  were  R.  D.  Brown,  and  Thompson 


182  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Brothers.  Within  a  period  of  five  years  subsequent  to  1856,  the  paper 
had  five  different  publishers,  and  was  suspended  as  many  times.  June 
8,  1864,  appeared  the  first  issue  of  the  Union  Press,  a  six-column  folio, 
published  by  Lyman  Knapp.  The  Press  firmly  adhered  to  the  cause  of 
the  North  and  supported  the  Union,  urging  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war  and  the  abolition  of  slavery.  July  4,  1867,  the  name  of  the  paper 
was  changed  to  the  Lawrenceburgh  Press.  Mr.  Knapp  in  a  short  time 
was  succeeded  by  J.  P.  Chew,  in  the  publication  of  the  Press,  who  had 
been,  with  the  exception  of  about  five  years,  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican organ  of  the  county  as  publisher  and  editor,  since  1852.  Mr.  Chew 
continued  to  conduct  the  Press  until  June  27,  1878,  when  he  sold  the 
paper  to  James  E.  Larimer,  who  has  since  published  and  edited  the 
same.  Mr.  Samuel  Chapman,  now  a  job  printer  of  the  city,  was,  for 
some  eighteen  years  prior  to  Mi*.  Chew's  withdrawal  from  the  Press,  asso- 
ciated with  the  printing  department  of  the  office  in  the  relation  of  fore- 
man and  manager.  The  Press  is  the  Republican  organ  of  the  county, 
and,  as  will  be  seen  from  what  has  been  said  above,  is  the  direct  succes- 
sor of  the  Independent  Press  established  in  1850.  Mr.  Torbett,  whose 
name  is  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Press,  died  in  Indianapolis  in 
1864.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  in  Lawrenceburgh  about 
1848;  was  for  a  time  connected  with  the  Press,  and  subsequently  with 
the  Register.  Iq  1849-50,  he  served  from  this  county  in  the  State  Leg- 
islature, and  was  speaker  of  the  House;  was  a  talented  man,  the  young- 
est in  that  body. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Aurora  was  the  Indiana  Signal, 
the  first  number  of  which  made  its  appearance  in  August,  1836,  edited 
by  L.  C.  Hastings.  In  politics  the  Signal  was  Democratic,  and  was  dis- 
continued after  the  presidential  campaign  of  that  year. 

In  1839  a  paper  was  established  at  Aurora  entitled  the  Dearborn 
Democrat,  by  the  Aurora  Printing  Company,  edited  by  Alexander  E. 
Glenn,  which  was  continued  during  the  exciting  canvass  of  1840,  then 
removed  to  Lawrenceburgh  and  published  by  C.  W.  Hutchins.  For  sev- 
eral years  following  the  removal  of  the  Democrat,  Aurora  was  without  a 
paper. 

The  Western  Republican  was  started  at  Lawrenceburgh  by  Nimrod 
Lancaster  in  1846,  and  in  the  fall  of  1847  it  was  removed  to  Aurora.  It 
was  started  as  an  independent  paper,  Vol.  II,  No.  32,  appeared  under  date 
of  November  22,  1847,  published  at  Aurora  by  John  B.  Hall  and  Nimrod 
Lancaster,  supporting  Taylor.  In  1848,  the  Republican  became  the 
property  of  Folbre  &  Co.  The  Wester7i  Commercial  was  started  in  Aurora 
in  1848,  by  N.  W.  Folbre  and  W.  H.  Murphy,  Vol.  I,  No.  11,  bearing  date 
of    February    10,    1849.     The  Commercial  was  neutral    in   politics   and 


JOURNALISM.  183 

religion,  and  continued  to  be  published  and  edited  by  Mr.  Folbre  until 
on  the  22d  of  May,  1851,  when  he  retired  and  was  succeeded  by  Messrs. 
Root  &  Bowers.  That  year  (1851)  these  gentlemen  established  the  Aurora 
Standard,  a  Whig  paper.  These  gentlemen  continued  the  publication 
six  months,  and  for  six  months  longer  the  Standard  was  published  by 
Mr.  Bowers  alone,  when,  in  1852,  E.  F.  Sibley,  then  foreman  in  the 
office,  purchased  an  interest  in  the  paper,  and  continued  in  its  publica- 
tion until  the  paper  was  suspended  in  1857. 

The  Independent  Banner  was  started  at  Aurora,  in  1852,  by  N.  D. 
Folbre,  the  first  issue  appearing  August  12.  Mr.  Folbre  remained  the 
editor  and  publisher  of  the  Banner  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
March  3,  1854.  The  publication  ceased  with  the  paper  of  March  8, 
1854.  Mr.  Folbre  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1824,  and,  with  his  parents, 
located  in  Aui'ora  in  1826.  In  1836  he  entered  the  Signal  office  in  Aurora 
to  learn  his  trade.  From  1838  until  1845  he  was  employed  in  the  office 
of  the  Political  Beacon  at  Lawrenceburgh,  where  he  remained  until 
1845,  when  the  press  changed  hands,  and  our  subject  controlled  the 
printing  department.  Later  he  was  in  the  office  of  the  Western  Repub- 
lican, printed  at  Lawrenceburgh  by  Mr.  Lancaster,  and  when  the  office 
was  moved  to  Aurora  in  1847,  Mr.  F.  returned  with  it. 

In  1859  W.  H.  Nelson  established  a  paper  at  Aurora  called  the  Aurora 
Commercial,  which  continued  to  be  published  by  him  until  some  time  in 
the  early  part  of  1861,  when  it  was  suspended.  That  fall  the  paper  was 
revived  by  E.  F.  Sibley,  and  successfully  conducted  by  him  until  1868, 
when  the  establishment  was  sold  to  John  Cobb. 

September  13,  1868,  appeared  the  first  number  of  a  paper  styled  the 
Peoples'  Advocate,  published  at  Aurora  by  E.  F.  Sibley,  which  was  con- 
tinued by  that  gentleman  until  1871. 

July,  1868,  there  was  established  at  Aurora  by  a  joint  stock  company 
of  twenty-four  members,  who  had  pui'chased  the  press  and  printing 
material  of  the  Auroi-a  Commercial,  a  paper  called  the  Dearborn  Inde- 
pendent, an  independent  Republican  newspaper.  Up  to  February,  1869, 
this  paper  was  edited  and  published  by  J.  W.  McDonald  &  T.  J.  Cobb. 
At  this  time  Mr.'McDonald  retired  and  left  the  management  and  editing  of 
the  paper  to  Mr.  Cobb,  who,  in  April,  1873,  sold  the  Independent  to  L. 
W.  Cobb,  who  has  since  conducted  the  paper  as  proprietor  and  editor. 
Under  the  present  management  the  paper  has  been  conducted  as  independ- 
ent in  politics. 

The  Aurora  Spectator,  a  neat  and  newsy  weekly  newspaper,  was 
started  some  years  since  by  James  Everett,  a  native  of  Illinois,  but  for 
ten  years  past  a  resident  of  Aurora.  In  1882  he  accepted,  as  a  partner, 
Frank  Gregory,   a  native  'of  Rising  Sun.     Messrs.  Everett  &  Gregory 


184  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

have  both  been  connected  with  the  printing  business  from  boyhood,  and 
are  achieving  an  encouraging  success  with  their  enterprise  in  Aurora. 

Two  and  fifty  years  ago  occurred  the  birth  of  the  first  newspaper 
published  in  Rising  Sun,  then  a  village  of  Dearborn  County.  The 
paper  was  styled  the  Rising  Surij  the  first  issue  of  which  appeared  under 
date  of  November  16,  1833,  printed  and  published  by  Isaac  Stevens  & 
Co.,  the  Company  being  Eldridge  G.  Brown,  a  steamboat  captain.  In 
size,  the  Rising  Sun  was  18x11^  inches,  a  five  column  folio.  It  was  not 
designed  as  a  political  paper,  "reserving  to  our  individual  self  the  right 
to  speak  and  think,  we  shall  ever  in  our  editorial  capacity  avoid  all 
partyism  and  political  controversies,  while  at  the  same  time,  in  regard 
to  the  general  movements  of  the  Government  we  shall  endeavor  to  give 
a  plain  and  unvarnished  tale,  and  leave  our  readers  upon  this  subject  to 
ponder  and  determine  for  themselves.''  With  the  issue  of  May  17, 
1834,  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Rising  Swn  Times, 
published  by  Stevens  &  Glenn.  The  Times  was  neutral  in  politics  and 
continued  to  be  published  by  Stevens  &  Glenn  until  November  8,  1834, 
when  Mr.  Stevens  sold  to  Mr.  Glenn  who  continued  its  publication  until 
1837  or  1838;  the  last  number  we  were  able  to  find  appeared  under  date 
of  September  16,  1837.  On  the  18th  of  February,  1837  or  some  time 
prior  thereto,  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Rising  Sun 
Times  and  Farmers*  Journal,  and  with  that  issue  began  the  paper,  a 
political  one,  pledging  itself  to  support  the  administration  of  Martin 
Van  Buren. 

Isaac  Stevens  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1811,  and  in 
1815  with  his  parents  removed  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  printing  business,  serving  six  years, 
thence  coming  from  the  ofiice  of  the  Cincinnati  Gazette  in  1833,  to 
Rising  Sun.  In  the  fall  of  1836  he  removed  to  Vevay,  and  there  com- 
menced the  publication  of  a  weekly  newspaper,  which  business  he 
continued  in  with  the  intermission  of  about  two  years,  until  1857,  tnen 
engaged  in  different  branches  of  mercantile  business  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1877. 

Alexander  E.  Glenn  was  a  man  of  considerable  ability,  and  after 
leaving  Rising  Sun  went  to  Aurora,  where  he  was  connected  with  the 
publication  of  a  paper.  In  1836  he  represented  Dearborn  County  in  the 
Legislature,  and  in  1841  he  returned  to  the  city  of  Columbus,  Ohio, 
taking  the  foremanship  of  the  State  Journal  office.  In  1853  he  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Ark,  an  Odd  Fellows'  Journal,  which  he 
edited  for  fifteen  years.  His  death  occurred  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  in 
1872. 

Vol.  I,  No.  1,  of  the  Rising  Sun   Journal,  a  five  column  folio  sheet, 


JOURNALISM.  185 

neutral  in  politics,  was  issued  September  12,  1838,  edited  and  published 
by  William  P.  Stratton,  who  retired  from  the  paper  September  7,  1839, 
and  was  succeeded  by  John  B.  Hall,  whose  name  appeared  in  connection 
with  the  paper  September  21st  of  that  year.  The  paper  appeared  under 
date  of  October  10,  1840,  as  the  Indiana  Patriot,  being  a  six  column 
folio,  stamped  as  Vol  I,  No.  1,  in  which  issue  Mr.  Hall  stated  that  he 
had  sold  his  printing  office  to  G.  M.  Child,  and  discontinued  the  publi- 
cation of  the  Rising  Sun  Journal.  The  Patriot  was  to  be  Whig  in  poli- 
tics. With  the  issue  of  December  5,  1840,  Mr.  Childs  withdrew  and  J. 
B.  Kent  became  the  proprietor.  The  last  issue  of  this  paper  at  our 
command  appeared  October  9,  1841.  The  office  was  removed  to  Wil- 
mington, and  under  date  of  March  27,  1841,  appeared  at  Wilmington, 
Vol.  I,  No.  1,  of  the  Dearborn  County  Register,  neutral  in  politics, 
published  by  J.  B.  Kent.  At  the  end  of  two  years  Mr.  Hall  again 
bought  the  office  and  published  the  first  Cass  paper  in  Indiana.  After 
the  division  of  Dearborn  County  and  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to 
Lawrenceburgh,  Mr.  Hall  removed  the  office  to  that  place,  carrying  it  on 
until  he  sold  out  to  George  W.  Lane  in  1852,  after  which  Mr.  Hall 
went  to  Evansville,  where  he  published  for  several  years  the  Evansville 
Enquirer.     In  1876  he  was  still  connected  with  the  press  of  that  city. 

Elder  William  P.  Stratton,  whose  name  is  mentioned  above  in  con- 
nection with  the  press  of  the  county,  was,  while  publishing  the  paper, 
pastor  of  the  Christian  Churches  at  Rising  Sun,  Ind.,  Petersburgh  and 
Burlington,  Ky.  He  was  a  practical  printer,  and  though  for  forty  years 
a  preacher,  had  by  secular  pursuits  supported  himself  and  family.  His 
death  occurred  in  Cincinnati,  in  1883,  aged  seventy-five  years.  In  that 
city  he  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  He  baptized  over  1,000 
persons,  officiated  at  over  2,000  funerals  and  married  over  2.000  couples. 

March  25,  1843,  S.  F.  Covington  issued  the  first  number  of  a  paper, 
styled  the  Indiana  Blade,  which  was  established  for  the  purpose  of  se- 
curing the  division  of  Dearborn  County,  and  the  location  of  a  county 
seat  at  Rising  Sun.  An  effort  of  this  kind  had  been  made  at  regular  in- 
tervals for  a  number  of  years,  but  had  always  proven  unsuccessful.  On 
this  occasion,  however,  the  friends  of  the  measure  succeeded  in  electing 
George  P.  Buell  to  the  Senate,  and  Col.  Pinkney  James,  David  Macy  and 
Richard  Spicknell  to  the  House,  who  procured  the  passage  of  a  law  di- 
viding Dearboru  County,  and  creating  the  new  county  of  Ohio.  Febru- 
ary 22,  1845,  Mr.  Covington  associated  with  him  his  brother,  John  B. , 
and  August  23  of  that  year,  S.  F.  Covington  transferred  the  paper  to 
hisjbrother,  John  B.  Covington,  and  took  charge  of  the  Madison  Courier. 
In  1846  he  returned  and  united  with  his  bi'other  in  the  publication,  and 
continued  until  January,  1848.  when  he  purchased  the  Madison  Courier 


186  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

and  again  took  charge  of  that  paper.  John  B.  Covington  continued  in 
charge  at  Rising  Sun.  March  11,  1848,  John  B.  Covington  sold  the 
Blade  to  Amor  &  Jennison,  and  joined  his  brother  at  Madison  in  the 
Courier.     In  July,  1849,  they  sold  the  Courier  to  M.  C.  Garber. 

S.  F.  Covington  went  into  the  insurance  business,  and  for  many  years 
was  connected  with  the  Indianapolis  and  Rising  Sun  Insurance  Companies, 
having  charge  of  the  office  of  the  Indianapolis  company  in  that  city.  After- 
ward he  went  to  Cincinnati  and  became  secretary  of  the  Globe  Insurance 
Company,  and  is  now  its  president.  He  has  served  as  president  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  is  one  of  the  best  posted  and  most 
reliable  and  trustworthy  commercial  men  in  that  city.  John  B.  Coving- 
ton became  secretary  of  the  Rising  Sun  Insurance  Company,  and  acted 
in  that  capacity  for  several  years;  was  engaged  also  in  trading  in  produce, 
and  has  now  retired  to  a  rural  home  half  a  mile  below  Rising  Sun. 

With  the  issue  of  June  3,  1848,  George  Amor  was  succeeded  in  the 
publication  of  the  Blade  by  R.  P.  Moore,  the  paper  to  be  conducted  in 
the  future  under  the  title  of  the  Indiana  Whig,  by  Messrs  Moore  &  Jen- 
nison; Vol.  I,  No.  1,  of  which  appeared  June  17,  1848.  In  the  salu- 
tatory it  was  stated  that  the  Wliig  would  support  Taylor  and  Filmore. 
"  Fully  persuaded  of  the  importance  of  the  approaching  campaign,  the 
interest  already  manifested  by  the  Whigs  of  this  representative  district, 
and  the  importance  of  a  Whig  paper  at  this  point,  has  alone  induced  the 
proprietors  to  embark  in  this  new  enterprise.  With  no  encouragement 
but  the  efficacy  of  our  principles,  and  the  ultimate  good  which  must  nec- 
essarily flow  from  a  proper  promulgation  of  those  principles,  has  in- 
duced us  to  launch  our  frail  bark  on  the  broad  and  boundless  ocean  of 
political  warfare,  and  meet  the  enemy  'face  to  face'  in  open  combat. 

"  The  Democratic  nominations  are  already  made;  the  party  drill  of 
the  'opposition'  has  commenced;  the  tocsin  has  been  sounded,  and  they 
are  daily  girding  on  their  armor  preparing  for  the  conflict.  It  behooves 
us,  then,  as  W^higs,  to  meet  them.  Therefore  it  is  necessary  we  should 
have  some  medium  through  which  to  defend  ourselves.  We  intend  the 
Whig  to  be  that  medium;  and  in  order  to  more  fully  disseminate  the 
Republican  principles  of  the  great  Whig  party,  we  ask  the  Whigs  of  the 
district  to  aid  us,  and  we  will  spare  no  pains  to  render  the  Whig  worthy 
of  their  support.  In  fact,  we  intend  making  the  Whig  a  political  paper, 
giving  'measures,  not  men,'  our  preference. 

"  We  are  now  on  the  eve  of  an  important  political  campaign,  one, 
too,  fraught  with  more  interest  and  magnitude  than  any  preceding  one. 
The  trying  issue  has  come.  One  more  universal  rally  is  necessary.  With 
the  spirit  of  1840  breathing  in  every  patriotic  Whig  breast,  and  the  inter- 
ests of  our  common  country  at  stake,  we  can,  by  a  strong  pull,  and  a  long 


JOURNALISM.  187 

pull,  and  a  pull  altogether,  redeem  the  Whig  party^from  the  thraldom  in 
which  it  was  so  unexpectedly  thrown  in  1844. "        *         *         *        * 

Mr  Jennison  was  associated  with  the  publication  of  the  Whig  but  a 
short  time,  when  the  paper  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Moore  (Robert  T.) 
alone.  The  latter  was  a  sharp  writer,  a  little  rough  and  decidedly  pur- 
sonal,  and  had  several  street  difficulties.  In  point  of  ability  the  Whig 
ranked  among  the  first  papers  of  the  State.  Its  editor  defended  and  sup- 
ported with  noted  talent  the  cause  he  espoused,  doing  himself  credit  and 
exercising  no  little  influence  by  the  bold  and  independent  course  he  pur- 
sued. Under  Taylor  Mr.  Moore  became  postmaster  of  Rising  Sun;  sub- 
sequently read  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar;  served  as  prosecuting 
attorney  over  this  judicial  district;  removed  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  died 
September  13,  1854,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight  years. 

The  office  of  the  Whig  was  sold  to  W.  T.  Pepper,  who  issued  under 
date  of  August  24,  1850,  No.  1,  Vol.  I,  of  a  paper  styled  the  Rising  Sun 
Herald,  to  be  neutral  in  politics. 

Vol.  I,  No.  1,  of  the  Rising  Sun  Mirror  was  issued  November  24, 
1849,  by  John  H  Scott,  which  March  13,  1851,  was  consolidated  with  the 
Herald,  to  be  neutral  in  politics,  as  each  of  those  papers  had  been;  the  new 
paper  to  be  edited  by  Mr.  Pepper  and  published  by  Charles  Scott.  This  pa- 
per was  shortlived,  we  judge,  for  in  September,  1852,  Mr.  Pepper  issued  No. 
1,  Vol.  I,  of  a  paper  under  the  title  of  the  Hoosier  Patriot,  Democratic 
in  politics.      The  Patriot  was  published  but  a  short  time. 

Vol.  I,  No.  1  of  the  Indiana  Repahlican  appeared  in  Risino-  Sun 
August  30,  1851,  under  the  proprietorship  of  Hayden  &  Gregory.  It 
claimed  to  be  Republican  in  politics,  of  the  same  school  of  Adams,  Clay 
and  Webster,  and  supported  Fillmore  for  the  presidency.  September  20, 
1851,  Mr.  Hayden  withdrew  from  the  paper  and  was  succeeded  by  Will- 
iam French,  who  in  connection  with  Mr.  Gregory  published  the  paper 
until  December  11,  1852,  when  Mr.  French  became  sole  pi'oprietor.  Jan- 
uary 1,  1853,  H.  C.  Craft  became  associated  with  Mr.  French  in  the 
publication  of  ih.Q  Republican,  the  last  number  of  which  was  issued  April 
22,  1854,  and  the  paper  was  then  removed  to  Jeflfersonville,  Ind. 

The  Neutral  Penant  made  its  appearance  in  Rising  Sun,  October  13, 
1853,  published  by  H.  C.  Craft;  and  the  Weekly  News,  Vol.  I,  No.  2,  ap- 
peai'ed  under  date  of  March  3,  1854,  by  Charles  Scott.  The  latter  not 
long  after  this  removed  his  office  to  Vevay. 

May  6,  1854,  was  issued  No.  1,  Vol.  I,  of  the  Indiana  Weekly  Visi- 
tor, published  by  William  H.  Gregory,  in  the  publication  of  which  he 
continued  until  in  1859.  Under  date  of  November  7,  1857,  under  the 
head  "  Last  of  Republicanism,"  the  editor  observed: 

"  The  career  of  Republicanism    has   been  run — the  yearling  is  dead. 


188  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUNTIES. 

The  coup  de  grace  has  been  administered  in  the  State  of  Ohio— its  only 
western  stronghold — and  it  now  lives  only  on  its  death  bed  in  New  York 
and  New  England.  During  its  life  it  was,  without  intending  it,  a  great 
ally  to  "the  Democracy,"  for  it  elected  Buchanan,  when  Fillmore  alone 
could  have  defeated  him;  and  a  Congress,  elected  two  years  ago  "Ameri- 
can," it  converted  afterward  into  "  Republican,"  to  be  succeeded,  as  it 
was  certain  to  be,  under  such  a  wrongful  conversion,  by  a  Congress 
Democratic. 

"We  were  accustomed  a  year  since  to  speak  of  the  Freemont  movement 
as  a  passion,  an  excitement  and  a  fever,  which  was  as  certain  to  die  out 
in  a  twelvemonth,  as  night  and  day  were  certain  to  succeed  each  other. 
We  were  very  much  abused  then  for  the  prediction,  but  time  has  proved 
it  true."         *  *  *         How  soon  the  resurrection,  and  what  a 

grand  life! 

Under  the  head  "Obituary"  appeared  the  following  notice  of  this  paper 
in  the  Hoosier  Paper  oi.  March  5,  1864:  "Died  on  Saturday  morning,  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1864,  after  an  illness  of  several  months,  the  Aurora  Rising  Sun 
Visitor,  in  the  ninth  year  of  its  age.     Requiescat  in  pace. 

"Little  did  we  imagine,  when  we  came  to  Rising  Sun  to  publish  the 
Hoosier  Paper,  that  we  would  so  soon  be  called  upon  to  record  the 
detnise  of  this  time-honored  and  valuable  institution,  which,  with  an 
intermission  of  a  few  months,  continued  to  exist  for  nearly  nine  years. 
The  publication  of  the  Visitor  was  commenced  by  the  late  William  H. 
Gregory,  in  the  year  1855,  if  we  recollect  aright,  and  continued  by  him 
several  years.  During  his  administration,  the  Visitor  was  looked  upon 
as  one  of  the  ablest  papers  in  the  State;  but,  after  continuing  the  publi- 
cation of  the  paper  for  about  four  years,  he  was  compelled,  on  account 
of  bad  health,  to  retire  from  business.  Mr.  Gregory  disposed  of  the 
office  to  Judge  J.  J.  Hayden,  then  residing  in  this  city,  who  published 
the  paper  about  twelve  months  and  then  sold  out  to  Mr.  D.  G.  Rabb, 
and  Mr.  John  W.  Rabb  took  hold  of  the  paper  and  published  it  through 
the  presidential  campaign ]of  1860,  and^  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion.  In  April,  1861,  Mr.  Rabb  recruited  a  company  of  troops 
under  the  call  of  the  President  for  75,000  men  for  three  months'  service, 
and  went  with  the  Seventh  Indiana  Regiment,  leaving  the  Visitor  in 
charge  of  a  publisher.  When  the  call  was  made  for  three  years'  troops, 
the  said  publisher  left  it  in  the  hands  of  another  'publisher,'  who  'run' 
it  about  one  month,  and  then  let  it  fizzle.  After  a  lapse  of  several 
months,  the  concern  was  revived  by  Messrs.  Frank  Gregory  &  Co.  (Mr. 
Ed  F.  Sibley),  of  the  Aurora  Commercial.  For  about  a  year  the  paper 
was  published  regularly  'every  Saturday  morning,'  the  first  and  fourth 
pages  being  printed  at  Aurora.     Finally,  Messrs.  F.  G.  &  Co.  sold  the 


JOURNALISM.  189 

material,  with  which  the  second  and  third  pages  had  been  printed,  to  a 
firm  in  Ripley  County,  and  thereafter  the  arduous  task  of  printing  the 
Visitor  was  performed  at  the  Commercial  office  in  Aurora,  the  work  being 
expedited  by  transferring  matter  from  the  columns  of  the  Commercial 
to  those  of  the  Visitor,  and  filling  the  fourth  page,  and  a  large  portion 
of  the  other  three  pages  with  Aurora  advertisements.  From  the  time  of 
the  transfer  of  the  concern  from  Rising  Sun  to  Aurora,  the  people  lost 
interest  in  it,  and  the  aforesaid  valuable(?)  institution  continued  to 
grow  gradually  weaker  and  to  struggle  hard  for  existence;  but  finally, 
without  a  cry  or  a  groan— it  being  so  weak  it  couldn't  groan — it  suc- 
cumbed and  went  'the  way  of  all  flesh.'  Such  is  the  short  but  brilliant 
history  of  the  Aurora  Rising  Sun  Visitor.  Again  we  exclaim,  'Peace  to 
its  ashes.'" 

The  Hoosier  Paper  was  started  in  Rising  Sun  February  20,  1864,  by 
John  P.  Lemon  and  D.  B.  Hall  (the  latter  is  now  the  publisher  of  the 
Rising  Sun  Local),  which  gentlemen  continued  its  publication  until  in 
the  following  August,  when  Mr.  Hall  went  into  the  United  States  serv- 
ice, and  Mr.  Lemon  continued  the  publication  of  the  Hoosier  until  the 
February  following,  when  he  sold  to  Mr.  J.  E.  D.  Ward.  The  follow- 
ing is  extracted  from  the  salutatory  of  the  Hoosier:  "Politically,  our 
paper  will  support  the  present  administration  in  all  its  acts  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  war.  *  *  *  "VVe  know  no  difference  between  a  traitor  in 
arms  and  a  traitor  at  heart,  and  think  they  should  be  served  the  same 
way — hanged  as  high  as  Haman.  While  our  brave  soldiers  are  fighting 
the  enemy,  we  deem  it  our  duty  to  fight  them  at  home  and  we  shall  do 
so  to  the  last  extremity.  We  do  not  want  to  see  this  war  end  unless  it 
be  with  honor  to  the  North.  Just  so  soon  as  Jeff  Davis  &  Co.  come  to 
see  'the  error  of  their  ways,'  and  come  back  under  the  shadow  of  the 
old  stars  and  stripes,  in  obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
country,  or  the  whole  race  of  rebels  is  exterminated  and  our  armies  and 
navies  have  encompassed  their  territory,  then  we  are  for  peace — not  be- 
fore." 

On  the  11th  of  March,  1865,  Mr.  J.  Edwin  Donelson  Ward  issued 
No.  1,  Vol.  I,'  of  the  Observer  and  Recorder,  whose  political  complexion 
was  purely  loyal,  conforming  to  the  views  and  doctrines  of  the  Repub- 
lican or  Union  party,  "to  support  the  Government  in  all  of  its  measures 
to  put  down  the  Rebellion."  Mr.  Ward  continued  to  publish  the  paper 
until  in  1866,  retiring  July  14,  and  on  the  21st  of  that  month  and 
year  Messrs.  Frank  Gregory  and  Charles  Beat}'^  took  possession  and 
issued  the  Recorder,  which  gentlemen  set  forth  in  their  salutatory  that  it 
was  their  intention  to  publish  an  independent  newspaper,  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  Ohio  County  and  Rising  Sun.      On  the  12th  of  January, 

1 1 


190  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1867,  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Ohio  Comity  Recorder. 
With  the  issue  of  the  paper  bearing  date  of  September  26,  1868.  Mr, 
Beaty  retires  and  the  Recorder  is  published  by  Mr.  Gregory  until  June 
2,  1873,  when  the  paper  was  sold  to  the  present  proprietor,  Frederick  J. 
Waldo,  who  June  7,  1873,  seat  the  paper  out  a  quarto,  six  columns, 
independent  in  politics  but  not  neutral.  The  paper  is  now  published 
under  the  name  of  the  Rising  Sun  Recorder,  and  is  Republican  in 
politics. 

October  17,  1874,  D.  W.  Calvert  commenced  the  publication  of  a 
paper  in  Rising  Sun  styled  the  Saturday  News,  independent  in  politics. 
The  News  was  continued  in  Rising  Sun  under  the  same  proprietorship 
uutil  in  the  spring  of  1878,  when  the  office  was  removed  to  Aurora  and 
the  paper  there  published  under  the  same  management,  though  changed 
in  politics  to  a  Democratic  paper  until  the  spring  of  1881,  when  its  pub- 
lication was  discontinued. 

Vol.  I,  No.  1,  of  a  weekly  paper  styled  the  Rising  Sun  Local,  a  six 
column  folio  independent  in  politics,  published  by  Banner  Hall,  made 
its  appearance  in  Rising  Sun  July  26,  1879,  with  Murray  T.  Williams 
as  local  editor.  The  Local  has  continued  under  the  same  name  and 
proprietorship,  though  several  times  enlarged  and  otherwise  improved 
from  the  beginning.  It  is  now  Republican  in  politics,  and  Mr.  Hall, 
the  editor,  is  still  assisted  by  Mr.  Williams.  The  LocaZ,  since  November 
13,  1880  an  eight  column  folio,  is  a  live  and  interesting  sheet. 

The  Rising  Sun  Herald  is  the  name  oE  a  weekly  penny  paper  estab- 
lished in  the  city  in  1884,  by  Master  Frank  Downey,  who  is  both  editor 
and  publisher.  The  Herald  is  printed  on  a  sheet  about  7x10  inches,  and 
is  a  spicy  little  paper  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  the  general  public. 
Vol.  I,  No.  46,  of  the  Herald  bears  date  of  February  20,  1885.  Giving 
our  prediction  for  what  it  is  worth,  founded  on  our  observations  of  the 
conduct  of  the  "  Liliputian,"  we  judge  our  young  friend  (if  he  contin- 
ues to  see  in  person  to  the  prompt  delivery  of  the  Herald  of  a  February 
morning,  with  the  mercury  ranging  from  15°  to  20°  below  zero,  the  Ohio 
River  almost  frozen  over,  with  the  city  itself  frozen  up,  before  one  has  a 
fire  or  his  breakfast,  as  the  writer  experienced  last  winter),  will  rise  to  the 
foremost  rank  of  his  profession. 

The  printing  offices  of  to-day  throughout  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties 
are  well  equipped  with  presses  of  modern  make  and  with  improved  facil- 
ities for  the  dispatch  of  all  kinds  of  job  work,  and  the  men  engaged  in 
the  conduct  of  the  several  newspapers  are  men  of  ability  and  well  quali- 
fied for  the  profession,  and  are  endeavoring  to  advocate  such  measures 
as  are  in  the  line  of  progress  and  advancement  ennobling  to  man,  and 
are  for  the  best  interests  of  the  public  generally.     The  men  conducting 


OHIO  RIVER  FLOODS.  191 

party  papers  are,  generally,  of  strong  political  convictions,  and  are  not 
silent  on  political  questions,  but  are  ever  on  the  alert  in  the  furtherance 
of  the  principles  of  the  party  to  which  they  are  attached.  Biographies 
of  the  members  of  the  press  will  be  found  in  the  biographical  depart- 
ment of  this  work. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
OHIO  RIVEK  FLOODS. 


Climate  of  the  Ohio  Valley— Conditions  Favorable  to  a  Great 
Flood— The  Flood  of  1788-89— 1832— 184?— 1882— 1883— 1884— Disas- 
trous Effects  at  Lawrenceburgh— Relief  for  Sufferers- 
Table  of  High-water  Marks  at  Cincinnatl 

AN  account  of  the  most  disastrous  floods  of  the  Ohio  River  will   be 
given  in  this  chapter  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence. 

The  Ohio  Valley  is  subject  to  greater  vicissitudes  of  climate,  perhaps, 
than  any  other  part  of  the  world  of  like  proportions.  A  change  within 
forty  days  has  been  experienced  from  a  temperature  20°  below  zero  to 
65°  above— the  cold  of  Canada  and  the  warmth  of  the  Gulf  in  the  same 
winter.  The  conditions  favorable  for  a  destructive  flood  in  the  Ohio  are 
a  frozen  ground  throughout  the  immense  region  drained  by  the  river,  a 
thick  covering  of  snow  spread  over  fields  and  forests  and  accumulated  in 
immense  snow-banks  in  the  mountains,  lastly  warm  winds  from  the  Gulf 
and  the  Southwest  superabundantly  laden  with  rain,  and  day  after  day 
pouring  out  many  inches  of  water.  The  ground  being  frozen  is 
impervious  to  the  water  from  the  rain  and  melted  snow,  and  the  torrents 
from  four  States  are  poured  into  the  mighty  river. 

The  agency  of  the  removal  of  forests  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 
in  increasing  the  number  and  destructiveness  of  floods  had  been  much 
discussed.  Forests  with  their  roots,  fallen  leaves  and  branches,  act  as 
sponges,  and  to  some  extent  hold  back  the  water.  The  clearing  and  cul- 
tivation of  the  land  and  the  increase  of  tile  and  ditch-drains,  facilitate 
the  discharge  of  the  rain-fall  into  the  streams;  but  it  would  seem  that 
the  effects  of  these  changes  from  a  state  of  nature  in  causing  floods  have 
been  exaggerated.  Certainly  the  destruction  of  forests  cannot  be  the 
cause  of  floods,  for  there  were  disastrous  high  waters  at  the  very  earliest 
settlements.  Dr.  George  Sutton,  of  Aurora,  has  vigorously  attacked  the 
theory  that  the  removal  of  forests  produces  our  great  floods.      He  says: 

"The  advocates  of  this  theory  seem  to  have  forgotten  that  there  have 


192  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

been  fluctuations  not  only  in  temperature  but  in  the  amount  of  rain-fall 
over  different  parts  of  the  globe  in  all  ages,  and  that  the  vast  amount  of 
moisture  accompanying  our  continental  storms  is  brought  from  the  ocean 
by  great  atmospheric  currents,  and  that  this  moisture  is  deposited  over 
the  country  and  along  the  valleys  of  our  rivers  independent  of  local 
influences. 

"A  combination  of  circumstances  may  produce  a  flood  similar  to  what 
we  had  in  1884,  forests  or  no  forests.  It  is  known  that  the  fall  of  one 
inch  of  rain  is  equivalent  to  2,000,000  of  cubic  feet  of  water  to  the 
square  mile.  If  five  inches  of  rain  fall  suddenly  upon  a  deep  snow  lying 
upon  frozen  ground  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  Biver,  the  forests  would 
certainly  have  but  little  influence  in  preventing  a  disastrous  flood. 
From  alluvial  deposits  we  have  conclusive  evidence  that  great  floods  have 
occurred  in  the  Ohio  River  long  before  the  country  was  settled  by  the 
white  man." 

1788-89. — There  was  a  great  flood  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  in 
which  the  Miami  country  was  first  settled.  The  troops  arriving  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  were  prevented  by  the  high  water  from  occu- 
pying Fort  Finney.  The  new  settlement  at  Columbia  in  January  was 
under  water;  "but  one  house  escaped  the  deluge."  The  soldiers  were 
driven  from  the  ground  floor  of  the  block-house  into  the  loft  and  from 
the  loft  into  the  solitary  boat  which  the  ice  had  spared  them.  John 
Cleves  Symmes  in  a  letter  to  Col.  Dayton,  dated  North  Bend,  May,  1789, 
says  that  the  whole  country  thereabout  had  been  inundated,  and  that  "the 
season  was  remarkable  for  the  amazing  height  of  the  water  in  the  Ohio, 
beino"  many  feet  higher  than  had  been  known  since  the  white  people  had 
come  into  Kentucky." 

A  memorandum  by  Judge  Goforth  reads  thus:  "September  25,  1789, 
Maj.  Stites,  old  Mr.  Bealer  and  myself  took  the  depth  of  the  Ohio  River, 
and  found  there  was  fifty-seven  feet  of  water  in  the  channel,  and  that 
the  water  was  fifty-five  feet  lower  at  that  time  than  it  was  at  that 
uncommonly  high  freshet  last  winter.  The  water  at  the  high  flood  was 
112  feet."   ' 

It  is  evident  that  there  is  an  error  in  these  figures.  If  they  were  cor- 
rect no  house  in  Columbia  would  have  escaped  the  deluge.  It  is  prob- 
able that  these  early  observers  made  a  mistake  in  measuring  the  height 
of  the  marks  of  the  flood  or  that  they  struck  a  hole  in  the  river. 

1832. — Passing  over  the  high  waters  of  more  than  forty  years  we 
come  to  the  first  great  flood  of  which  a  correct  record  exists,  that  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1832.  On  the  1st  of  February,  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow, 
but  the  weather  was  warm  and  pleasant.  The  snow  melted  rapidly  until 
the  6th,  when  the  rain  set  in.     On  the  8th  and  9th  it  rained  continuously; 


OHIO  RIVER  FLOODS.  193 

on  the  10th  the  rising  of  the  waters  in  the  Ohio  began  to  attract  attention 
at  Cincinnati  and  Lawrenceburgh;  on  the  14th  many  merchants  at  Cin- 
cinnati were  compelled  to  remove  their  goods  to  the  second  story  of  their 
houses;  the  river  continued  to  rise  rapidly  until  Saturday  morning, 
February  18,  when  it  came  to  a  stand. 

The  flood  was  of  a  most  distressing  character;  the  Ohio  did  more 
damage  by  overflowing  its  banks  than  had  ever  before  been  done  since  the 
first  settlement  of  the  country.  Nearly  all  the  towns  on  the  Ohio  were 
inundated  in  whole  or  in  part.  Fences  and  movable  property  were 
swept  from  all  the  farms  on  the  river  bottom  from  Pittsburgh  to  Louis- 
ville. Houses,  barns,  grain  and  haystacks  were  seen  floating  down  the 
river  in  great  numbers.  Hundreds  of  families  were  turned  houseless 
upon  the  community.  At^Cincinnati  the  water  covered  between  thirty 
and  forty  squares  of  the  city  which  was  then  nearly  all  crowded  into  the 
bottoms. 

The  flood  reached  its  highest  point  on  the  18th;  two  days  later  it 
had  declined  two  feet  four  inches;  on  the  24th  the  river  was  within  its 
banks.  The  bottoms^^about  Cincinnati  and  Lawrenceburgh  may  be  said 
to  have  been  inundated  for  about  twelve  days — six  days  while  the  flood 
was  advancing  and  six  days  after  the  decline  began.  The  Lawrence- 
burgh Palladium,  published  by  David  V.  Culley,  in  its  issue  of  March 
3,  1832,  said  of  this  flood: 

"The  late  great  flood  in  the  Ohio  and  its  disastrous  effects  being  sub- 
jects of  painful  interest  to  all,  we  have  collected  in  our  paper  to-day 
statements  from  the  different  towns  on  the  river.  From  Pittsburgh  and 
as  far  down  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn;  the  destruction  of  property 
has  been  great  beyond  a  parallel  in  the  West.  The  height  of  the  water 
in  this  place,  over  the  great  flood  of  1815,  was  five  feet  nine  inches, 
and  over  that  of  1825  about  eight  feet.  High  Street,  the  most  elevated 
part  of  the  town,  was  covered  with  from  four  to  six  feet  of  water  its 
whole  extent.  On  some  of  the  cross  streets  the  water  was  still  higher, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  compelled  to  seek  refuge  in  the  buildings 
along  High  and  Walnut  Streets.  All  the  two  story  buildings  on  these 
streets  were  filled  to  overflowing — some  having  three,  four  and  five 
families  in  them." 

Although  Lawrenceburgh  suffered  much  from  this  flood,  some  of  the 
statements  concerning  the  condition  of  the  town  at  the  time  of  high 
waters  were  gross  exaggerations.  A  Cincinnati  newspaper  stated  that 
"the  town  of  Lawrenceburgh  is  wholly  inundated,  so  that  there  is 
scarcely  a  house  to  be  seen  but  the  spire  of  the  church."  To  this  the 
Statesmen  replied:  "Now  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  the  flood  was 
perhaps  about    six  or  seven  feet  higher   than  it  has  ever    been  known; 


194  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

two  small  frame  or  log  dwellings  on  the  low  ground  were  floated  away, 
and  some  light,  empty  frames  removed  from  their  foundations,  but  no 
lives  were  lost  and  no  very  serious  injury  sustained,  indeed  not  nearly 
so  much  as  was  expected  while  the  flood  was  up  and  before  it  subsided. 
The  whole  of  the  old  part  of  the  town  was  inundated,  but  the  principal 
part  of  the  new  town  was  not  touched  with  the  flood.  *         *         * 

*  *  *  *  No  white  man  can  recollect  when  the  water  has 
been  of  sufficient  height  to  overflow  the  principal  street  in  our  village, 
and  except  the  small  cupola  on  the  court  house  there  is  not  a  spire,  dome 
or  sky-light  on  a  church  or  any  other  building  in  the  town." 

1847. — The  flood  of  this  year  is  the  only  destructive  one  in  the  Ohio 
of  which  we  have  any  record,  occurring  in  the  month  of  December.  The 
rise  was  from  streams  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  emptying'their  waters  into 
the  Ohio  above  Lawrenceburgh.  The  Ohio  began  to  swell  December 
10,  1847.  December  15,  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow.  On  the 
17th  the  waters  reached  their  highest  point,  when  there  were  sixty-three 
feet  and  seven  inches  of  water  at  Cincinnati. 

1882. — The  flood  of  February,  1882,  although  the  waters  were  not  so 
high  as  in  1832  and  1847,  was  disastrous  and  appalling  at  Lawrence- 
burgh.     We  copy  from  the  newspapers  of  that  city: 

"For  several  weeks  the  Ohio  River,  at  this  city,  had  been  rising  grad- 
ually, until  Monday  evening,  February  20,  it  had  reached  a  point  at  the 
junction  of  the  till  in  the  fair  grounds  and  the  "Big  Four"  Railroad, 
when  it  became  necessary,  on  account  of  the  depression  in  the  fair 
ground  embankment,  to  raise  the  bank  at  least  two  feet  in  order  to  keep 
the  waters  which  had  been  accumulating  from  flowing  over  the  bank  into 
the  city.  Mayor  Roberts  promptly  secured  a  force  and  went  to  work 
with  energy  and  determination  to  do  all  that  could  be  done  to  keep  back 
if  possible  the  waters,  and  up  to  midnight  Monday  had  succeeded  ad- 
mirably in  holding  them  in  check.  But  the  continued  rains  for  the  past 
few  days  had  swollen  the  White  Water  and  Miami  Rivers  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  it  was  soon  evident  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  keep  up  the 
embankment  of  the  "Big  Four"  Railroad  from  this  city  to  Hardintown, 
and  the  most  that  could  be  expected  was  to  hold  the  waters  back  until 
morning  or  daylight.  But  at  about  4  o'clock  Tuesday  morning,  the  2l8t, 
the  waters  from  the  Miami  were  thrown  against  the  "Big  Four''  Rail- 
road track  with  excessive  pressure,  on  account  of  the  barrier  formed  by 
the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad,  which  would  not  permit  the  accumu- 
lated waters  to  pass  into  the  Ohio  River,  when  at  a  point  just  below  the 
locks,  at  Hardintown,  and  a  point  opposite  the  Trough  Pond,  near 
Nicholas  Fox's,  the  water  broke  through,  and  it  was  not  long  until  it  was 
rushing  with  fearful  velocity,  and  in  vast  volumes  through  the  upper 


OHIO  RIVER  FLOODS.  195 

end  of  the  city,  carrying  terrible  destruction  in  its  wide  and  rapidly  ex- 
tending pathway.  The  screams  of  the  people  in  the  lower  parts  of  the 
town,  when  they  were  aroused  to  the  fact  that  they  were  surrounded  by 
the  flood  of  waters,  were  distressing  in  the  extreme.  The  Mayor  had 
arranged  for  giving  a  signal  of  alarm  by  the  ringing  of  the  church  bells, 
and  when  it  was  known  that  the  flood  was  coming  the  bells  pealed  out 
their  terrible  warning,  and  at  the  same  time  the  flood  gates  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  city  were  opened,  and  the  torrent  of  waters  came  rushing  from 
both  directions  with  equal  destructive  force  until  they  met  at  Walnut 
Street,  like  two  mighty  giant  monsters  of  the  deep  amid  its  angry  waves 
struggling  for  the  supremacy  of  the  sea,  until  both  ended  their  existence 
in  death,  and  thus  the  waters  ceased  their  angry  flow. 

"Although  it  was  generally  known  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
keep  the  waters  out  of  the  city,  and  that  many  of  the  houses  were  ten 
feet  or  more  below  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  river,  yet  compara- 
tively few  persons  were  prepared  when  the  rush  of  waters  came.  The 
result  was  the  loss  of  individual  property  has  been  very  gi-eat.  Not  so 
much  in  the  aggregate  of  dollars  and  cents,  however,  as  that  it  came  to  a 
class  of  people  not  able  to  lose  anything — yet  in  many  cases  it  took  all 
they  had,  even  to  their  houses.  Both  in  the  upper  and  lower  end  of  the 
city  quite  a  number  of  small  houses  could  be  ween  overturned,  while 
others  had  floated  away  from  their  foundations.  It  is  surprising  how 
many  families  were  driven  so  hastily  from  their  homes,  on  account  of  the 
sudden  rise  of  the  water  within  the  city  limits,  which  in  its  mad  career 
seemed  to  wash,  upturn  and  drive  everything  before  it.  Hardly  two 
hours  had  elapsed  from  the  time  the  water  broke  its  barriers  until  it 
was  in  every  part  of  the  city  doing  its  work  of  devastation,  and  yet  we 
have  heard  of  but  one  death. 

"The  men  employed  in  their  skifi"s  and  hastily  provided  boats  did 
noble  work  in  rescuing  the  people  from  the  great  peril  in  which  they 
were  so  suddenly  found.  Large  numbers  of  families  took  shelter  in  the 
public  school  buildings,  in  the  court  house,  in  the  stove  works,  in  the 
lodge  rooms  and  other  large  rooms  on  High  Street,  as  well  as  with  pri- 
vate families,  and  it  may  be  said  that  over  a  thousand  persons  were  made 
homeless  for  the  night  at  least.  It  was  but  a  short  time  after  getting 
housed  until  they  were  provided  with  food  and  made  as  comfortable  as  it 
was  possible  to  make  them  under  such  unforeseen  circumstances  and  the 
short  time  which  was  given  to  work. 

"The  waters  continued  to  rise  until  about  4  o'clock  Tuesday  after 
noon,  and  from  that  time  until  midnight  there  was  but  little  change, 
when  it  began  to  fall.  In  the  afternoon  it  had  covered  High  Street, 
with  the  exception  of  here  and  there  a  small  portion  of  the  center  of  the 


196  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

street  could  be  seen  as  dark  spots  above  the  water.  High  Street  being 
the  highest  street  in  old  Lawrenceburgh,  this  part  of  the  city  therefore 
was  entirely  submerged.  The  store  houses,  with  floors  even  with  the 
pavements,  had  a  few  inches  of  water  on  their  first  floor.  On  all  streets 
besides  High  the  buildings  were  more  or  less  filled  with  water,  ranging 
from  one  foot  to  fifteen  feet." 

1883. — Early  in  February  of  this  year  the  continued  rains  and 
gradual  rising  of  the  river  had  been  a  topic  of  conversation  at  Law- 
renceburgh, but  notwithstanding  the  Ohio  and  Miami  Elvers  had  been 
making  encroachments  on  the  high  lands,  hopes  were  entertained  that  the 
river  would  not  exceed  that  of  1882,  and  that  the  levee,  though  known  to 
be  weak  at  the  points  filled  after  the  washout  of  the  preceding  Feb- 
ruary, would  be  sufficient  to  hold  the  waters  in  check,  but  the  people  were 
doomed  to  bitter  disappointment.  The  whole  city  was  completely  sub- 
merged except  a  few  squares  in  Newtown.  High  Street,  the  highest 
street  in  what  is  termed  Oldtown,  or  the  principal  part  of  the  city  was 
under  water  on  an  average  of  about  six  feet,  and  there  was  not,  in  the 
main  part  of  the  city,  a  single  house  of  which  the  first  floor  was  not 
under  water.  The  stores  all  along  High  Street  had  an  average  of  about  five 
and  one-half  feet  of  water  in  them,  and  along  Elm,  Short,  Walnut  and 
other  streets  leading  from  the  river,  the  depth  of  water  increased, 
and  in  many  cases  the  water  reached  the  second  story.  In  1882  the 
waters  were  enabled  to  flow  over  High  Street  by  the  aid  of  a  boom  from 
the  Miami,  but  the  Ohio  failed  to  reach  this  street,  the  highest  street  in 
the  city,  only  at  the  extreme  upper  end.  In  1888,  however,  the  Ohio 
Eiver  became  the  ruling  master,  and  took  complete  possession  of  the  city, 
and  covered  its  highest  street  to  the  depth  of  six  feet. 

With  such  a  depth  of  water  running  with  rapid  current  through  the 
city,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  loss  of  property  would  be  enormous. 
Aside  from  the  loss  of  merchants,  grocery  men  and  business  men,  the 
destruction  of  houshold  goods  and  personal  property  was  enormous. 
The  loss  of  buildings  also  was  great.  Eight  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, 2  business  houses,  40  dwellings,  and  3  stables  were  entirely 
destroyed,  and  179  dwelling  houses,  133  barns  and  stables,  19  shops, 
6  business  houses,  removed  from  their  foundations.  Graham  &  Marshall 
lost  heavily  in  lumber  and  had  their  saw-mill  swept  away,  while  Henry 
Fitch's  losses  were  nearly  as  large,  although  his  mill  stood  firm. 

As  the  water  disappeared  the  destruction  of  property  became  more 
apparent.  The  houses  generally  presented  a  very  shattered  appearance; 
the  windows  were  broken  out,  doors  and  sash  smashed,  and  where  the  fur- 
niture had  not  been  removed,  bureaus,  bedsteads,  tables,  and  safes  were 
tm-ned  upside  down,  mirrors  smashed,  carpets,  bed-clothing   and    wear- 


OHIO  RIVER   FLOODS.  197 

ing  apparel  covered  with  slimy  mud,  and  pianos  injured  beyond 
rep  air. 

1884. — The  flood  of  February,  1884,  was  by  far  the  greatest  and 
most  destructive  known  since  white  men  took  possession  of  the  Ohio 
Valley.  In  December,  of  the  winter  of  1883-84,  a  great  amount  of 
snow  fell;  over  this  was  spread  several  inches  of  fine  hail,  so  that  the 
amount  of  frozen  water  spread  over  the  Ohio  Valley  was  very  great. 
Throughout  January  more  snow  fell,  only  a  portion  of  which  melted. 
Three  feet  of  snow  had  fallen,  and  much  of  it  was  spread  over  the 
valley,  or  accumulated  in  drifts.  At  last  came  the  warm  storms  from  the 
southwest,  and  day  after  day  there  were  heavy  rains.  All  the  conditions 
existed  for  a  disastrous  flood.  Nowhere  was  it  more  destructive  and 
frightful  than  at  Lawrenceburgh.  On  Wednesday,  Februai-y  6,  1884  at 
about  noon  of  that  day,  the  levee  was  still  holding  back  the  water 
between  old  Lawrenceburgh  and  Newtown  and  Hardintown;  but  along 
High  Street,  between  Elm  and  St.  Clair  Streets,  the  waters  from  the  Ohio 
began  to  pour  into  the  city.  Up  to  10  o'clock  at  night  but  a  very  small 
part  of  the  city  had  been  visited  by  the  waters,  but  at  about  this  hour  the 
levee  at  the  locks,  just  below  Hardintown,  gave  way,  and  the  rushing 
element  came  with  all  its  fury,  spreading  in  wild  confusion  over  the 
fields  beyond,  and  in  a  few  hours  extending  with  rapidity  all  over  the 
city,  but,  unlike  1882,  it  met  the  water  from  the  Ohio,  and  thus  the 
force  of  the  current  was  broken,  and  but  little  damage  was  done  to 
property  on  account  of  the  rush  of  waters. 

By  1  o'clock  Thursday  morning,  the  waters  covered  High  Street,  with 
the  exception  of  that  part  of  the  street  between  Charlotte  Street  and  the 
railroad  crossing  at  the  Miami  Valley  Furniture  Factory.  This  point, 
the  highest  on  High  Street,  was  the  last  to  become  submerged.  From 
this  hour  (Thursday  morning  at  6  o'clock)  at  which  time  there  was  about 
twelve  inches  on  High  Street,  the  rise  was  gradual  until  Thursday,  the 
14th;  at  5:45  P.  M.,  it  came  to  a  stand-still,  and  then  remained  appar- 
ently stationary  for  nearly  five'  hours,  when  it  began  slowly  to  recede, 
until  on  Thursday  morning,  21st  inst.,  the  most  of  High  Street  was  again 
visible,  after  being  beneath  the  flood  of  waters  for  two  weeks. 

The  water  rose  to  such  height  that  the  force  of  its  lifting  power  alone 
was  sufficient  to  upturn  buildings  and  break  them  in  two;  but  to  this 
force  was  added  a  boisterous  wind-stoi'm  that  shook  the  buildings  to  their 
bases  and  lashed  them  with  the  furious  waves  until  hundreds  of  build- 
ings of  various  kinds  left  their  foundations  to  be  tossed  upon  the  waters, 
broken  to  pieces  or  carried  bodily  into  the  river  and  lost  forever  to  their 
owners. 

On  Thursday  morning,  February  15th,  at  6  o'clock,  the  waters  reached 


198  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

their  highest  point,  being  two  feet  eight  inches  higher  at  Lawrenceburgh 
than  ever  before  known.  The  heights  at  various  places  in  the  city  are 
here  given: 

Ferris'  drug  store,  8  feet  4  inches;  Jordan's  drug  store,  8  feet  7  inches; 
Indiana  House,  22  inches  on  second  floor;  Hilhnan's  store,  lOfeet  5  inches; 
Kieflfer's  store,  5  inches  on  second  floor;  postoffice.  9  feet  5  inches;  court 
house,  4  feet  6  inches;  People's  Bank,  8  feet  10  inches;  Methodist 
Church,  1  inch  on  second  floor.  • 

The  entire  village  of  Hardintown   was   under  waterfor  twelve  days, 
and  its  inhabitants  took  refuge  in  the  Bellview  Church  and  with  friends. 
Relief  committees  were  organized  and  contributions  were   promptly 
sent  from  all  parts  of  the  country.     The  Lawrenceburgh  Relief  Commit- 
tee received  and  disbursed  over  S20,000. 

Large  quantities  of  provisions  were  bought,  and  liberal  donations  of 
bedding,  clothing,  food  and  coal  were  received  from  various  parts  of  the 
country  to  relieve  the  distresses  of  the  3,000  persons  driven  from  their 
homes  by  the  flood.  When  the  waters  subsided  many  houses  were  found 
wrecked,  which  the  owners  were  unable  to  repair.  A  blank  form  of  ap- 
plication for  relief  was  prepared  and  the  owner  was  required  to  show, 
under  oath,  his  or  her  inability  to  repair  the  damages.  One  hundred 
and  eighty -seven  of  these  were  tiled,  of  which  160  were  granted. 

Eleven  houses  were  completely  swept  away,  tifty-four  were  off  the 
foundation,  some  of  them  several  hundred  feet,  and  fourteen  of  them 
turned  over.  An  efficient  force  of  movers,  carpenters,  stone  and  brick 
masons,  plasterers,  and  laborers  were  engaged  to  repair  the  damages. 

The  executive  committee  compromised  a  large  number  of  cases, 
allowing  the  owners  to  do  the  work  themselves,  or  have  it  done,  and  the 
amount  was  paid  on  certificate  that  it  was  completed. 

The  following  is  a  table  of  the  highest  water  marks,  as  kept  on  record 
at  Cincinnati,  for  the  years  mentioned  below: 

1833,  February  18 64  feet  3  in. 

1847,  December  17 63  feet  7  in. 

1859,  February  22 55  feet  5  in. 

1862,  January  24 57  feet  4  in. 

1865,  March  7 56  feet  3  in. 

1867,  March  14 55  feet  8  in. 

1870,  January  19 55  feet  3  in. 

1875,  August  6 55  feet  5  in. 

1882,  February  21 58  feet  7  in. 

1883,  February  15 66  feet  4  in. 

1884,  February  14 71  feet  f  in. 

The  river  gauge  at  Cincinnati  is  at  the  water  works.  The  zero  of  the 
guage  corresponds,  as  nearly  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it  at  the  time  it 
was  established,  with  the  Four-mile  Bar  above  the  city.     The  figures 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  199 

above  given  show  the  depth  of  the  water  on  that  bar,  and  are  not  a  true 
guide  to  water  in  the  river  channel.  When  there  is  twenty-three  inches 
of  water  on  the  Four-mile  Bar  there  is  fifteen  feet  in  the  channel  oppo- 
site the  water- works.  If  thirteen  feet,  therefore,  be  added  to  the  above 
figures,  it  will  approximate  the  depth  of  water  in  the  channel  at 
Cincinnati, 

On  account  of  the  greater  quantities  of  water  poured  out  from  the 
Great  Miami  at  some  floods  than  others,  the  relative  heights  at  Cincinnati 
and  Lawrenceburgh  are  not  the  same;  thus,  in  1884,  the  waters  at  Cin- 
cinnati were  four  feet  eight  and  three-fourths  inches  higher  than  in  1883, 
while  at  Lawrenceburgh  they  were  but  three  feet  four  inches  higher. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
MILITARY    HISTORY. 

Revolutionary  Soldiers— The  War  of  1812— The  Mexican  War— 
The  Civil  War— The  Honorable  Record  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio 
Counties  in  the  Struggle  for  the  Union— The  Morgan  Raid- 
Drafts  and  Bounties— War  Expenditures  of  the  Counties— Aid 
Societies — Rejoicing  at  the  Surrender  of  Lee. 

AMONG  the  pioneers  who  settled   in  Dearborn  County  were  a  num- 
ber who  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  the  following  is  a 
list  prepared  by  George  W.  Lane  of  the  soldiers  of  that  great  struggle 
for  freedom  whose  remains  are  buried  within  the  limits  of  the  county: 
Capt.  Joseph  Hayes.  Winthrop  Robinson.  Joseph  Barlow.         ' 

Col.  Zebulon  Pike.  Enoch  Sackett.  William  Kerr. 

Capt.  Isaac  Cannon.  Jacob  Toothman.  James  Skeets. 

Maj.  John  Calhoun.  William  White.  James  Dykman. 

Ephraim  Morrison.  James  Scott.  Henry  Raymer. 

Peter  Carbaugh.  Jabez  Percival.  John  Sackett. 

John  Baker.  Capt.  John  Crandon.  Baylis  Cloud. 

Samuel  Marsh.  Capt.  Hugh  Dunn.  Job  Judd. 

Samuel  Richardson.  John  DeMcss.  Elijah  Rich. 

Joseph  Hannegan.  Isaac  Way.  Jonas  Frazier. 

Jacob  Taylor.  John  Day.  Mr.  Burroug. 

The  following  is  an  incomplete  list  of  the  pioneers  of  Ohio  County 
who  were  Revolutionary  soldiers: 

Noah  Miller,  from  New  Jersey,  served  in  the  "Jersey  Line,"  partici- 
pated in  many  skirmishes  and  in  the  hard-fought  battle  of  Monmouth, 
N.  J.,  suffering  severely  in  the  latter  engagement. 


200  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Hannaniah  Rollins  served  in  the  "Jersey  Line,"  entering  the  service 
in  his  sixteenth  year.  About  1777  he  was  attached  to  the  band,  or  to  the 
"music,"  as  it  was  termed,  as  fifer,  was  promoted  to  iife-major,  and 
served  his  country  to  the  end  of  the  war. 

Ephraim  Bobbins,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  served  in  the  war,  partici- 
pating in  several  skirmishes,  and  was  wounded  in  a  skirmish  which  took 
place  in  Rhode  Island. 

John  Fulton  (a  soldier)  and  wife  were  made  prisoners  by  the  Indians 
in  1780,  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  remained  captives  one  year. 

Benjamin  Chambers  was  commissioned  by  the  Continental  Congress 
an  ensign  in  the  First  Pennsylvania  Regiment  in  1778,  when  not  fifteen 
years  of  age,  and  in  the  following  year  was  made  a  lieutenant.  He  was 
in  active  service  several  years,  and  was  distinguished  for  gallant  bearing 
on  the  field  of  battle. 

James  Stewart,  who  died  near  Rising  Sun  in  1833,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight  years,  was  a  Revolutionary  patriot. 

N 

THE    WAK    OF    1812. 

Dearborn  County,  we  believe,  furnished  no  organizations  that  were 
engaged  in  the  Indian  campaigns,  but  she  did,  under  the  direction  of 
Gen.  Harrison,  organize  a  company  under  Gen.  James  Dill,  commanded 
by  Capt.  James  McGuire,  which  max'ched  from  Lawrenceburgh  to 
Lebanon,  Ohio,  then  the  place  of  rendezvous  of  the  troops  raised  in  the 
counties  of  southwestern  Ohio,  and,  it  appears  from  what  follows,  thence 
marched  to  Piqua,  Ohio,  but  were  there  met  with  the  information  that  the 
Indians  were  advancing  on  the  frontier,  and  were  ordered  back  to 
Lawrenceburgh  to  protect  the  frontier  settlements. 

The  part  the  county  played  in  this  war  is  set  forth  in  the  following 
article,  written  in  1862,  and  published  in  the  Aurora  Comriiercial  over 
the  signature  of  E.  Chafin: 

'^Soldiering  in  1812. — Mr.  Editor,  I  will  give  you  a  little  of  our  ex- 
perience of  camp  life  in  1812-13.  We  first  volunteered  in  a  company 
under  Capt.  James  McGuire,  in  the  fall  of  1811,  to  join  Gen.  Harrison's 
army,  but  before  we  were  organized  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  fought, 
and  we  stood  as  minute  men  until  after  the  declaration  of  war  with 
Great  Britain,  June  18,  1812.  On  the  1st  of  August  following  we  or- 
ganized again  under  Capt.  McGuire,  were  attached  to  Maj.  Shatter's  Bri" 
gade,  and  marched  to  Piqua,  on  the  Mad  River,  in  Ohio,  where  we  joined 
Gen.  Harrison's  army.  We  were  there  some  two  weeks,  when  an  ex- 
press arrived  from  old  Dearborn  to  Gen.  Harrison,  who  ordered  us  to 
countermarch  to  Indiana  Territory  to  protect  the  frontier. 

"Our  company  built  a  block-house  at  Brookville,  commanded  by  Lieut. 


MILITARY  HISTORY. 


201 


Breckinridge;  one  on  Tanner's  Creek,  commanded  by  Capt.  Blasdell, 
and  a  third  on  Laughery,  where  Capt.  McGuire  afterward  lived.  We 
scouted  from  one  of  these  block-houses  to  the  other  until  April  1,  1813, 
when  we  were  mustered  out,  and  returned  to  our  homes.  With  all  our 
scouting,  the  Indians  were  watching  iis,  as  the  sequel  proved.  The 
block- houses  were  not  filled  for  nearly  a  week,  and  during  that  time  the 
Indians  stole  eight  horses  and  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco  from  Isaac 
Allen,  on  South  Hogan,  and  two  horses  from  Nicholas  Lindsay,  who 
lived  where  George  Lane  now  lives.  They  also  spoiled  three  or  four 
yoke  of  cattle  by  cutting  their  ham-strings.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  then 
moved  over  into  Kentucky  for  fear  of  the  Indians,  but  'old  Kentuck'  sent 
us  Capt.  Seabury,  with  his  company,  who  chased  the  Indians  across 
White  River;  they  found  the  river  so  swollen  that  they  had  to  give  up 
the  chase  and  return.  Maj.  Nichols,  of  Wilmington,  and  Conrad  Huff- 
man were  both  in  the  chase.  They  are  both  dead.  I  have  been 
acquainted  with  them  both  for  fifty  years." 


NAMES    OF    SOLDIEES    OF    THE    WAR    OF 


1812. 


The  following  list  of  citizens  of  Dearborn  County  who  served  in  the 
second  war  with  England  was  prepared  by  Greorge  W.  Lane: 


Samuel  C.  Vance. 
James  Dill. 
John  Weaver. 
James  W.  Weaver. 
Justice  Sortwell. 
Decker  Crozier. 
James  McGuire. 
Samuel  Ewan. 
George  Greer. 
Joseph  Morgan. 
Samuel  Frazier. 
William  Randall. 
Dr.  Samuel  Martin. 
Obediah  Priest. 
Thomas  Annis. 
Ephraim  Hollister. 
Jesse  Sacket. 
John  Greenfield. 
Warren  Tebbs. 
Johnson  Watts. 
Aaron  Bonham. 
Joshua  Yerkees. 
James  Salmon. 
Casper  Johnson. 
George  Lewis.       — 
Maston  Isgrigg. 
Willobv  Tebbs. 
Enoch  Blasdell. 
Abijah  Decker. 
William  Majors 
Stephen  Thorn. 
William  King. 
Jonathan  Lewis. 
Timothy  Kimble. 


James  Bruce. 
Elial  Chafin. 
Thomas  Kyle. 
Jonathan  AUee. 
Isaac  Randall 
Garret  Swallow. 
T.  N.  Burroughs. 
Joseph  Daniels. 
Samuel  Perry. 
Thomas  Porter. 
Maj.  John  Lewis. 
Ellis  Williamson. 
Israel  Bonham. 
Nathan  Lewis. 
Obediah  Voshell. 
Thomas  Johnson.  - 
James  Dart. 
Isaac  Taylor. 
William  Webb. 
James  Cloud. 
Thomas  Ehler. 
William  Maserve. 
James  King. 
Joshua  Staples. 
Ferdinand  Turner. 
George  Rudisal. 
Thomas  Covington 
John  Durham. 
-George  Mason. 
Levi  Garrison. 
Jesse  Calaway. 
Job  Judd,  Jr. 
Joseph  Judd. 
Jacob  Rudisal. 


Maj.  Jeremiah  John-Alex  Roseberry. 
son,  Sr.  Nathaniel  Tucke 

James  C.  Cornelius,  ©aleb  Roseberry. 


Ira  Cloud. 

Thomas  Dart. 

Michael  Farran. 

Richard  Pippin. 

John  Lilly. 

Caleb  Johnson. 

Capt.  Robert  Brack- 
enridge. 

Spencer  Wyley. 

Job  Hayes. 

William  Ashby. 

Capt.  Charles  Stev- 
ens. 

John  White. 

J.  Brackenidge. 

Nicholas  Mason. 

John  Majors. 

James  Eads. 

Samuel  Johnson. 

Robert  Gullett. 

John  Durham. 

William  Green. 

Stephen  Green. 

Philip  Mason. 


John  Burk. 
Daniel  Mason. 
Aquilla  Cross. 
John  Mason. 
Matthew  Lamdon. 
Samuel  Thornton. 
John  Tanner. 
Baylcss  Ashby. 
William  Lake. 
James  Ofield. 
Robert  Majors. 
Elijah  Eads. 
Thomas  Hackelman. 
Noyes  Canfield. 
James  Withrow. 
James  Boyd. 
Capt.  StepheaWood. 
James  Powell. 
Joseph  Plummer. 
Daniel  Salmon. 
Samuel  Roberts. 
Charles  Clements. 
Enoch  Pugh. 
Col.  Henry  Miller. 


/-'Valentine  Lawrence.  James  Holmes,  Sr 
/  Finlev  Judd. 


Michael  Rudisal. 
Jerry  Johnson,  Jr. 
Maj.  Thomas  Brac- 

kenridge. 
John  Hall. 


Joseph  Huston. 
William  Caldwell. 
Jacob  Fielding. 
Edwards  Clements. 
Luther  Plummer. 


202  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

We  have  been  unable  to  obtain  a  complete  list  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
war  of  1812,  who  resided  in  Dearborn  County,  south  of  Laughery  Creek. 
The  following  is  a  partial  list  and  includes  the  names  of  those  buried  in 
the  Rising  Sun  (Graveyard: 

Henry  Palmer,  Morris  Merrill,  Nathaniel  L.  Squibb  (entered  the 
army  as  a  drummer  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years),  Capt.  John  I.  French 
William  Goldson,  Sooter  McAdams,  Benjamin  Moulton  (Kanger) 
Mathew  Cadwell,  Abel  C.  Pepper,  Thomas  Lindsay,  George  Hewett 
Thomas  Jones,  Robert  McGuffin,  William  Padgett,  James  B.  Smith,  Jere 
miah  Clore,  Andrew  Y.  McComb,  Thomas ,  Bradley,  Mr.  Ricketts,  Levi 
Winters,  Rev.  James  Jones,  Martin  Mitchell,  William  O'Neal,  William 
Tilton,  Gilbert  Hall,  Daniel  Taber,  Robert  E.  Covington. 

THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Immediately  on  the  proclamation  of  President  Polk  calling  for  three 
regiments  from  Indiana,  James  H.  Lane,  then  a  merchant  of  Lawrence- 
burgh,  organized  a  company  (  F  )  of  volunteers  for  the  Mexican  War, 
and  was  the  first  to  report  to  the  governor  the  organization  of  a  company. 
Jefiersonville  was  made  the  place  of  rendezvous,  where,  on  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Third  Indiana  Volunteer  Regiment,  James  H.  Lane  was 
elected  its  colonel,  and  George  Dunn,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  succeeded  Lane 
in  the  captaincy  ^of  the  company.  The  regiment  went  immediately  to 
Mexico,  and  participated  in  the  battle  at  Buena  Vista.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  battle  the  Third  Regiment  was  placed  in  the  reserve; 
during  the  progress  of  the  battle  a  number  of  brigades  were  forced  back, 
and  the  Third  Regiment  was  ordered  to  the  front  and  maintained  its 
position  during  the  entire  battle,  and  was  the  only  regiment  that  did  not 
retreat  in  the  face  of  the  enemy  during  the  entire  engagement,  thereby 
redeeming  the  honor  and  credit  of  the  State  of  Indiana. 

A  second  call  was  made  upon  Indiana  the  following  year  for  soldiers, 
and  Ebenezer  Dumont,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  organized  and  reported  a  com- 
pany ready  for  service;  and  under  the  same  call,  Capt.  William  Bald- 
ridge,  of  Lawrenceburgh  (late  of  Pennsylvania),  organized  a  company 
and  was  chosen  its  captain.  On  the  organization  of  the  regiment— the 
Fourth  Indiana  Volunteers — Ebenezer  Dumont  was  elected  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  Thomas  J.  Lucas,  of  Lawrenceburgh,  was  chosen  captain  of 
the  company,  succeeding  Dumont. 

The  Fourth  Regiment  was  ordered  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  was  assigned  to 
the  main  army  under  Gen.  Scott.  On  their  march  they  learned  that 
Santa  Anna  was  at  a  certain  point,  and  a  portion  of  one  of  the  Law- 
renceburgh companies  was  detached,  under  Capt.  Thomas  J.  Lucas,  who 
advanced  so  rapdily  that  he  came  near  taking  Santa  Anna  himself,  reach- 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  203 

ing  the  house  in  which  he  had  slept  the  night  previously,  while  the  bed 
he  had  occupied  was  yet  warm,  Anna  having  left  in  such  haste  that  his 
wooden  leg  was  left  behind. 

The  term  of  enlistment  of  the  Third  Regiment  having  expired,  it, 
with  the  colonel,  returned  to  Indiana.  Col.  Lane  by  the  authority  of  the 
President  then  organized  from  all  parts  of  the  State  the  Fifth  Regiment 
Indiana  Volunteers,  one  company  of  which  was  from  Dearborn  County. 
The  place  of  rendezvous  of  the  regiment  was  at  Madison,  where  James 
H.  Lane  was  elected^colonel  of  the  regiment.  The  regiment  was  at  once 
ordered  to  the  front,  and  joined  the  main  army  of  Gen.  Scott  at  the  City 
of  Mexico.  The  regiment,  together  with^  the  Fourth,  remained  in  the 
service  until  peace  was  declared. 

The  Fifth  Regiment,  while  yet  in  Mexico,  held  a  meeting  of  its  officers 
and  men,  and  voted  their  colonel,  James  H.  Lane,  a  sword  to  cost  |1,000. 
The  funds  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  committee,  which  purchased 
the  sword  and  presented  it  to  Lane  on  ,hi8  return  from  the  war.  This 
sword  was  in  his  house  at  Lawrence,  Kas.,  when  Quantrell  made  his 
murderous  attack  on  that  city,  and  before  leaving  Lane's  house  stole  it, 
with  many  other  valuables  in  the  house.  During  the  pursuit  of  the 
retreating  rebels,  Col.  Lane  found  the  sword,  took  it  home  and  it  has 
since  remained  in  the  family  as  an  heirloom. 

THE    CIVIL    WAR. 

The  people  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties  may  well  cherish  with 
pride  their  record  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  When  the  national  flag 
was  fired  on  the  people  were  prompt  and  thorough  in  response  to  the  call 
to  arms,  and  men  of  all  parties  exhibited  alacrity  and  patriotism  in 
bearing  their  share  of  the  burdens  of  the  momentous  struggle. 

On  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  the 
excitement  throughout  both  counties  was  intense.  Ordinary  occupations 
and  pursuits  were  almost  forgotten.  Lawrenceburgh,  Aurora  and  Ris- 
ing Sun  were  thronged  with  an  excited  populace,  asking  for  the  latest 
news  from  the  seat  of  hostilities.  The  people's  patriotism  ran  high,  and 
the  loyal  men  of  all  parties,  forgetting  past  differences,  announced  their 
readiness  to  follow  their  country's  call. 

The  following  history  of  Dearborn  County  in  the  war  of  1861-65, 
under  this  head^  was  prepared  by  Capt.  Alexander  B.  Pattison,of  Aurora: 

The  record  of  Dearborn  County  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  shows  it 
to  have  been  second  to  no  other  county  of  equal  population  in  the  State. 
It  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call  for  troops,  and  within  twen- 
ty-four hours  after  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  three  companies  had  of- 
fered their  services,  and  were  soon  under  way  to  the  State  capital  for 
muster  into  the    Seventh  Regiment  for  three  months.     These  three  com- 


204  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

panies  were  Company  D,  of  Lawrenceburgb,  with  Benjamin  J.  Spooner 
as  captain,  who,  after  being  mustered  in,  was  succeeded  by  John  F. 
Cheek  (Capt.  Spooner  being  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel),  David  E. 
Sparks,  first  lieutenant,  and  Jesse  Armstrong,  second  lieutenant,  with  75 
enlisted  men;  Company  Gr,  of  Lawrenceburgb,  with  Nathan  Lord  as 
captain,  L.  H.  Stephens,  first  lieutenant,  William  Francis,  second  lieu- 
tenant, with  75  enlisted  men;  Company  E,  of  Aurora,  with  John  H. 
Ferry  as  captain,  Henry  Waller  as  first  lieutenant,  and  Alexander  B. 
Pattison  as  second  lieutenant.  These  three  companies  formed  the  van 
guard  of  what  afterward  proved  almost  ^n  army  of  itself  that  went  from 
Dearborn  County.  They  were  followed  next  by  two  companies  for  the 
Sixteenth  Regiment,  of  one  year  troops — Company  G,  with  Albert  G. 
Dennis  as  captain,  William  J.  Fitch,  first  lieutenant,  and  Philip  Dex- 
heimer,  second  lieutenant,  with  78  enlisted  men,  and  Company  I,  from 
Aurora,  with  John  A.  Platter  as  captain;  William  Copeland,  first  lieuten- 
ant; Israel  Phalin,  second  lieutenant,  .with  84  enlisted  men.  The  Six- 
teenth organized  with  Thomas  J.  Lucas  as  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Ed- 
ward Jones  as  chaplain  from  the  county.  Later  the  Seventh  Regiment 
reorganized  for  the  three  years'  service  with  one  company,  A,  from  Aurora^ 
John  H.  Ferry,  captain;  Alexander  B.  Pattison,  first  lieutenant,  and  Ben- 
jamin F.  Burlingame  as  second  lieutenant,  with  108  enlisted  men,  in- 
cluding recruits;  served  three  years;  lost  by  death  while  in  the  service, 
24;  mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  33.  Company  K, of  Lawrenceburgh, 
with  Jesse  Armstrong  as  captain;  Homer  Chismar,  first  lieutenant,  and 
James  F.Vaughn,  second  lieutenant,  with  111  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death 
during  service,  19;  mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  31. 

In  the  Eighteenth  Regiment  was  Thomas  Pattison,  colonel,  and  A. 
P.  Daughters,  surgeon.  With  Company  A — captain,  Jesse  L.  Holman; 
first  lieutenant,  Robert  G.  Cunningham;  second  lieutenant,  Judson  B. 
Tyler,  and  108  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death,  6;  mustered  out  at  end  of  the 
service  of  three  years,  21. 

Enlisted  in  tbe  Thirty-second  Regiment  was  Company  C,  with  John 
L.  Giegoldt  as  captain ;  Max  Sachs,  first  lieutenant,  and  Henry  Bellman 
second  lieutenant,  with  130  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death  during  service, 
22;  mustered  out  at  end  of  enlistment,  32  men.  Company  D,  with  John 
Schwartz  as  captain;  Frank  Knorr,  first  lieutenant;  Emanuel  Eller,  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  with  122  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death  during  service,  19; 
mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  50  men. 

Enlisted  in  the  Thirty- seventh  regiment  from  Dearborn  County, 
Company  F,  with  Wesley  G.  Markland  as  captain;  John  B.  Hodges, 
first  lieutenant,  and  Joseph  P.  Stoops,  second  lieutenant,  with  101  en- 
listed men;  lost  by  death,  24;  mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  43. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  207 

For  the  Forty-fifth  (Third  Cavalry)  Regiment,  Dearborn  County  fur- 
nished Company  D,  with  Daniel  B.  Kiester  as  captain;  Mathew  B.  Ma- 
son, first  lieutenant;  Henry  F.  Wright  as  second  lieutenant,  with  84 
enlisted  men;  lost  by  death,  10;  mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  36. 
The  county  furnished  to  the  Fifty-second  Regiment,  Company  C,  with 
George  W.  Tyer  as  captain;  William  Francis,  first  lieutenant  and  Eli 
Mattox,  second  lieutenant,  with  100  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death  during 
service,  11;  mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  41. 

To  the  Eighty-third  Regiment  there  was  sent  Benjamin  J.  Spooner, 
as  colonel;  George  H.  Scott,  as  lieutenant-colonel;  Henry  C.  Vincent 
and  Samuel  M.  VVeaver,  assistant  surgeons.  Company  B,  with  Jacob 
W.  Eggleston,  as  captain;  Henry  Gerkin,  first  lieutenant;  Dandridge  E. 
Kelsey,  second  lieutenant,  with  113  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death  during 
service,  30;  mustered  out  at  end  of  service,  37. 

Company  H,  with  James  M.  Crawford,  as  captain;  John  Rawling, 
first  lieutenant,  and  Ferris  J.  Nowlin,  second  lieutenant;  with  92  enlist- 
ed men;  lost  daring  enlistment,  20;  mustered  out  at  end  of  enlistment, 
42.  Company  I,  with  Henry  J.  Bradford,  as  captain;  William  N.  Craw, 
first  lieutenant,  and  George  W.  Lowe,  second  lieutenant;  with  91  en- 
listed men;  deaths  during  term  of  service,  18;  mustered  out  at  end  of 
enlistment,  37  men;  while  in  the  same  regiment  there  were  75  more  men 
from  Dearborn  County  distributed  to  the  other  companies. 

To  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth  Regiment,  Company  I,  with 
George  W.  Shockley,  as  captain;  Edwin  T.  Gibson,  first  lieutenant,  and 
George  W.  Wood,  as  second  lieutenant,  with  95  enlisted  men;  all  mus- 
tered out  at  end  of  100  days,  the  term  of  enlistment. 

To  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  Company  G,  with 
Josiah  Dorn,  as  captain;  Sanford  Briddle,  first  lieutenant,  and  Enoch  Al- 
len, second  lieutenant,  with  100  enlisted  men;  lost  by  death,  4;  mus- 
tered out  at  end  of  enlistment,  82. 

Dearborn  County  also  furnished  one  company  to  the  Eleventh   Ken 
lucky  Volunteers,  with  F.  Slater,  captain,  afterward  promoted  to  colonel 
of  the  regiment;  Edward  H.  Green,   first  lieutenant,    with  80  enlisted 
men;  lost  by  death   during  service,  8;  mustered   out  at  end  of  enlist- 
ment,  46. 

The  foregoing  shows  a  grand  total  of  1,946  men  enlisted  in  the 
county,  while,  undoubtedly,  a  large  number  more  enlisted  in  different 
regiments  in  and  without  the  State  that  we  have  no  account  of,  and  as 
far  as  we  have  the  i-ecord  it  also  shows  that  there  were  killed,  and  died 
while  in  the  field,  224,  and  that  there  were  mustered  out  with  the  regi- 
ments at  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  service,  661,  the  others  having 
been  discharged,  deserted,  transferred  to  other  regiments,  taken  prison- 


208 


HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES 


ers,  etc.  Such  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  number  of  men  furnished  by 
Dearborn  County  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  while  there  was 
scarcely  a  battle  fought  during  the  war  in  which  the  county  was  not 
represented. 

The  Indiana  Regiments  which  contained  the  greatest  number  of  men 
from  Ohio  County  were  the  Seventh,  Eighty-third,  Second  Battery  and 
Fourth  Cavalry. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  the  officers  and  men  of  Company  I,  of 
tlie  Seventh  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  (three  months'  service): 


COMMISSIONED    AND    NON-COMMISSIONED    OFFICERS. 


Capt.  John  W.  Rabb. 

First  Lieut.  Solomon  Wixterman. 

Second  Lieut.  David  Loslutter. 

All  of  Rising  Sun. 
First  Sergt.  Frank  Gregory 
Sergt.  Joseph  G.  Bell. 
Sergt.  Hugh  Jameson. 


Sergt.  Joseph  S.  Thompson. 
Corp.  Samuel  S.  Lynn. 
Corp.  Silas  P.  Richmond.* 
Corp.  Jerry  McElvay. 
Corp.  Hudson  Campbell. 
Musician,  Fred  Garlinghouse. 
Musician,  William  P.  Ammen. 


Adkins,  Thomas  J.  Fortner,  Jesse 

Adkinson,  James  Fowler,  Frank 

Burgess,  Levi  H.  Gockle,  Wm.  P. 

Brunley,  Riley  Hunt,  A.  D. 

Bennett,  John  Hardin,  Allen 
Bradshaw,  Marion 

Barker,  Philip  B.  Hardy,  John  E. 

Colley,  John  Husseman,  John 
Connell,  George 


PRIVATES. 

Moore,  Richard 
McNutt,  John  P. 
Pink,  Samuel 
Pink,  Archibald 
Piersou,  Julius  C. 


Hourigan,  Michael    Neal,  John 

Neal,  Charles 
Richmond,  Peter 


Hayman,  Henry  T.  Scoggin,  Elisha 
Smith,  Joseph  H. 
Smith,  James 


Stelink,  Henry 
Tinker,  James  M. 
Tinker,  Wesley 
Terrill,  William 
Van  Antwert,  Wm. 
Vehouse,     Frederick 
Walker,  M.  C. 
Walker,  George 
Walker,  Edward 
Wade,  Harvey  J. 
Williams,   Oliver  D. 
Williams,  Orville  G. 
Williams,  Jerome  B. 
Yarnell,  Daniel 
Yonker,  Hartley 


Cunningham,  Martin  Harrison,  Ellis 

Dodd,  John  W.  Jennings,  D.  A. 

Dodd,  Thomas  M.     Lemons,  Geo.  W.  Smith,  Henry  H. 

Degner,  Charles         Loslutter,  Chris  Smith,  Ephraim 

Eastman,  William  C.Lakin,  Frank  Summers,  Jesse 

Elias,  Hamilton         McQuithey,  J.  B.  Stout,  John  W. 

Elstar,  Levi  H.  Maloue,  Joseph  Stephenson,  Geo.  W. 

The  Seventh  Regiment  was  organized  and  mustered  into  service  for 
three  months,  at  Indianapolis,  April  25,  1861,  with  Ebeuezer  Dumont 
(who  bad  served  with  distinction  in  the  Mexican  war)  as  colonel.  On 
the  29th  of  May  it  was  ordered  to  West  Virginia  and  proceeded  at  once 
by  rail  to  Grafton.  On  the  2d  of  June  it  proceeded  by  rail  to  Webster, 
where  it  was  joined  by  other  regiments.  The  entire  force  was  then 
divided  into  two  columns  under  the  immediate  command  of  Col.  Kelley, 
and  was  marched  to  Philippi,  the  Seventh  being  in  advance.  The 
advance  guard  under  Lieut.  Benjamin  Ricketts,  of  Company  B,  Avhen 
within  a  mile  of  the  town,  engaged  the  enemy's  pickets  and  drove  them 
back.     The  Seventh,  followed  by  the  rest  of  the  column,  crossed  a  bridge 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  209 

and  entered  the  town  at  double-quick,  driving  the  rebels  before  them 
out  of  the  town  and  two  miles  beyond.  The  regiment  remained  in  camp 
•at  this  place  for  six  weeks,  and  then  marched  to  Bealington,  as  part  of 
Gen.  Morris'  command.  Here  some  skirmishing  was  had  with  the 
enemy's  pickets,  and  a  reconnoissanee  to  the  right  and  rear  of  their  line 
'  made  by  a  force  of  500  men  of  the  Seventh  and  Ninth  Indiana,  under 
Col.  Dumont.  On  the  night  of  July  11,  the  rebels  retreated  from  the 
front  of  our  troops,  and  in  the  morning  the  pursuit  commenced— the 
Seventh  being  in  the  rear— and  was  continued  until  2  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  our  forces  halting  at  Leedsville.  While  here  Capt.  Blair  and 
Lieut.  Tucker  captured  three  rebel  prisoners.  The  next  morning  the 
march  was  resumed  to  St.  George-Cheat  River  being  forded  on  the 
way.  At  Carrick's  Ford  the  crossing  was  resisted  by  Gen.  Garnett, 
which  was  promptly  met  by  the  tire  of  the  Fourteenth  Ohio,  Col' 
Steadman,  stationed  on  the  bank  of  the  river  opposite  the  enemy.'  The 
Seventh  Indiana  then  advanced  and  charged  down  the  banks  of  the 
river,  crossed  over,  captured  the  enemy's  baggage,  and  hiirried  on  in 
pursuit  of  the  retreating  rebels.  At  the  next  ford,  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  from  Carrick's  Ford,  the  enemy  made  another  stand,  under  the 
personal  command  of  Gen.  Garnett.  The  resistance  was  brief,  the 
rebels  flying  and  leaving  their  commander  dead  on  the  field.  Col.'  Du- 
mont continued  the  pursuit  for  two  miles  and  then  halted  for  the  night. 
The  next  day  the  Seventh  took  up  the  line  of  march  to  St.  George  and 
from  thence  to  Bealington.  After  a  few  days'  rest  it  was  ordered  to 
Indianapolis,  where  it  was  mustered  out  of  service. 

Company  C,  of  the  Seventh  Regiment  Indiana  Infantry  (threel  years' 
service)  had  for  its  successive  commissioned  officers  from  "ohioj  County: 

OFFICERS. 

Capt.  Solomon  Waterman.  First  Lieut.  Jerome  B.  Williams  ^ 

Capt.  David  Lostutter,  Jr.  First  Lieut.  Orville  W.  Williams  v 

Capt.  Hugh  Jamison.  First  Lieut.  Robert  E.  Hall. 

Capt.  Orville  D.  Williams.  First  Lieut.  Thomas  M  Dodd 

Capt.  Robert  E.  Hall.  Second  Lieut.  SamueJ  S.  Lynn 

First  Lieut.  David  Lostutter,  Jr.  Second  Lieut.  Hugh  Jamison 

First  Lieut.  Samuel  S.  Lynn.  Second  Lieut.  Jerome  B.  Williams   ^ 

First  Lieut.  Hugh  Jamison.  Second  Lieut.  John  W.  Dodd. 

The  enlisted  men  were: 

First  Sergt.  Hugh  Jamison.  Corp.  Henry  Stealing. 

Sergt.  Jerome  B.  Williams.  Corp.  Marcus  C.  Wallier. 

Sergt.  Julius  C.  Pearson.  Corp.  Abel  C.  Pepper  French 

Sergt.  Orville  D.  Williams.  Corp.  Henry  T.  Hayman. 

Sergt.  Thomas  M.  Dodd.  Corp.  Jacob  J.  Burnett. 

Corp.  Calvin  F.  Monroe.  Musician  James  F.  Lemon. 

Corp.  John  W.  Dodd.  Musician  George  W.  Righter 

Corp.  George  W.  Lemon.  Wagoner  William  Abbott. 


210 


HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


PRIVATES. 


Allen,  Isaac  M. 
Allen,  Nath'l  M.  C. 
Bennett,  George  W. 
Burns,  Richard 
Bradshaw,  Mason  B. 
Campbell,  Sam.  M. 
Carpenter,  Dan.  T. 
Clark,  George 
Clark,  William  H. 
Collins,  John 
Collins,  Armstrong 
Conaway,  Joseph 
Conradd,  John 
Craft,  Israel  Loriny 
Crandall,  Reed  N. 
Delph,  Jonas  T. 
Delph,  Willis  M. 
Dugle,  William  H. 
Dugle,  Samuel 
Eastman,  Philip 
Eggleston,  Aaron  D. 


Fisher,  Charles 
Fox,  James  M. 
Gibbous,  Oliver  P. 
Grace,  Richard  D. 
Hall,  Robert  Elwood 
Hare,  William 
Hodges,  John 
Holcraft,  Jeremiah 
Holden,  William  G. 
Huston,  James  C. 
Huston,  Isaac  M. 
Israel,  Elijah 
Jones,  David 
Kelley,  John  M. 
Kittle,  William  H. 
Lambert,  William 
Lemon,  Henry  Clay 
Lewis,  Robert  B. 
Loder,  James  W. 
Longwood,  Mort.  S. 
Majors,  John 


Marker,  Harmon  H. 
McCullough,  H.  H. 
McKnight,  John 
Miller,  Benj.  Jr. 
Mitchell,  Robert  B. 
Monroe,  William 
Mullen,  William 
Nieman,  Martin  F. 
Oatman,  William 
Otenchultz,  H. 
Pate,  Charles  E. 
Pate,  Jackson  I. 
Pearce,  William  H. 
Pink,  Archibald  I. 
Powell,  John  H. 
Randall,  Alex.,  Sr. 
Randall,  Alex.,  Jr. 
Reinhardt,  Herman 
Richmond,  Peter  S. 
Rieman,  William 


Schwertzfezer,  F. 
Simons,  Theodore  L. 
Stewart,  Charles  L. 
Sterling,  Charles  W. 
Stopher,  Andrew  J. 
Summers,  Frank 
Tinker,  James  M. 
Tinker,  James 
Thompson,  Martin 
Tuttle,  Sanford 
Tyler,  Nathan 
W^alton,  William  H. 
Walker,  William 
Welch,  Benjamin  F. 
Williams,  Alex.  B. 
Williamson,  J. 
Williamson,  Albert 
Wilson.  James  S. 
Winn,  Peter 
Yonge,  Robert  G. 


Armstrong,  G.  M. 
Courtney.  M.  H. 
Gibbins,  William 
Hewitt,  George 
Keller,  Jacob  S. 


Kelly,  Oliver  P. 
Lee,  John  C. 
Longwood,  Theo. 
Miles,  Thomas  L. 


Mier,  William  F. 
North,  Pinkney  A. 
Pugh,  Sampson  M. 
Sink,  William  F. 


Williams,  Charles 
Williams,  Oliver  G. 
Wilson,  James 
Williamson,  J. 


The  regiment  was  reorganized  at  Indianapolis,  and  was  mustered  in 
for  three  years'  service,  September  13,  1861,  with  Ebenezer  Dumont  as 
colonel.  It  moved  at  once  into  Western  Virginia  and  joined  Gen.  Key- 
nolds'  command  at  Cheat  Mountain.  On  the  3d  of  October,  it  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Green  Brier,  and  soon  after  moved  up  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  camping  near  Green  Spring  Run.  At  Winchester  it  was  engaged 
in  the  battle  of  Winchester  Heights,  March  23,  1862,  and  also  in  the  en- 
gagements at  Port  Republic  on  the  9th  of  June,  and  at  Front  Royal  on 
the  12th  of  the  same  month.  It  then  marched  to  Fredericksburgh  and 
back  again  to  the  Shenandoah,  under  Gen.  Shields,  after  which  it  was 
assigned  to  Gen.  McDowell's  command.  The  regiment  was  with  Gen. 
Pope's  forces  in  the  campaign  of  the  Army  of  Virginia,  participating  in 
the  tight  at  Slaughter  Mountain,  August  9,  1862,  and  the  second  battle  of 
Bull  Run  on  the  30th  of  August.  The  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  pur- 
suit of  Lee  during  the  invasion  of  Maryland,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Antietam,  on  the  17th  of  September,  losing  two  killed  and  eight  wounded. 
It  was  next  engaged  at  Ashby's  Gap,  or  Union,  on  the  2d  of  November, 
suifering  a  loss  of  four  killed  and  six  wounded.     It  participated   in  the 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  211 

battle  of  Fredei'icksburgh,  under  Gen.  Burnside,  on  the  13th  of  Decem- 
ber. During  the  next  year's  campaign  the  Seventh  was  engaged  in  the 
great  battles  at  Chancellorsville,  on  the  2d,  3d,  4th  and  5th  of  May,  and 
at  Gettysburg  on  the  1st,  2d,  3d  and  4th  of  July,  losing  heavily  in  both  en- 
gagements. At  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1863,  it  participated  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Mine  Run,  November  30.  The  spring  of  1864  found  the  Seventh 
in  camp  at  Culpepper,  from  whence  it  moved  with  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac in  Grant's  last  great  campaign,  participating  in  the  following 
battles:  in  the  Wilderness,  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  May;  at  Laurel  Hill,  on 
the  8th  of  May;  at  Spottsylvania,  on  the  10th  and  12th  of  May;  at  Po 
River,,  at  North  Anna  River,  on  the  25th  of  May;  at  Bethesda  Church,  on 
30th  and  31st  of  May  and  1st  of  June,  and  at  Cold  Harbor,  on  the  3d  of 
June.  In  these  engagements  the  regiment  was  under  fire  for  eighteen 
days  and  suffered  severely.  On  the  16th  of  June  it  crossed  the  James 
River  to  join  the  assault  on  Petersburgh,  and  was  engaged  the  day  follow- 
ing in  the  desperate  but  unsuccessful  attempt  to  carry  the  rebel  works  at 
that  place.  Here  the  regiment  remained,  participating  in  the  siege  of 
Petersburgh  until  the  18th  of  August,  when  it  moved  with  that  portion 
of  the  army,  selected  for  the  purpose,  on  the  Weldon  Railroad,  with  the 
view  of  cutting  the  same,  and  was  engaged  in  the  battle  near  Yellow 
House,  on  the  19th  of  August.  On  the  23d  of  September,  in  pursuance 
of  orders  from  the  general  commanding  the  corps  to  which  it  was 
attached,  the  Seventh  Regiment  was  consolidated  with  the  Nineteenth 
regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  afterward,  on  the  18th  6t  October, 
this  new  oi'ganization  was  again  consolidated  with  the  Twentieth  Regi- 
ment Indiana  Volunteers.  Upon  the  final  discharge  of  the  Twentieth, 
July  12,  1865,  the  veterans  and  recruits  that  had  been  transferred  to 
it  from  the  Seventh  Regiment,  were  also  mustered  out,  and  on  the 
same  day  returned  to  Indianapolis  with  it  for  final  payment. 

Company  C,  of  the  Eighty- third  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, had  for  its  successive  commissioned  officers: 
Capt.Metellus  Calver?,  Rising  Sun.  First  Lieut.  Wm.  H.  Smith. 

Capt.  Benj.  North,  Grant's  Greek.  First  Lieut.  E.G.  North,  Grant's  Creek. 

Capt.  Wra.  H.  Smith,  Rising  Sun.  Second  Lieut.  T.  Shehane,  Fairwiew. 

First  Lieut.  Benj.  North.  Second  Lieut.  Eli  Harrison,  Rising  Sun. 

The  enlisted  men  were: 
First  Sergt.  Wm.  H.  Smith.  Corp.  John  J.  Douglass.* 

Sergt.  Ernest  C.  North.*  Corp.  John  Monroe. 

Sergt.  Edmund  Miller.*  Corp.  Wm.  P.  Conner. 

Sergt.  Riley  Brumly.  Corp.  John  D.  Sams.* 

Sergt.  Eli  Harrison.  Corp.  Pleasant  M.  Shafer. 

Corp.  John  Bennett.  Musician-David  C.  Thorn. 

Corp.  James  Kay.  Musician  Jacob  Hess.* 

Corp.  Wm.  H.  North.*  Wagoner  Daniel  K.  Crandall. 


212 


HISTORY  OP  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


PRIVATES. 


Douglass,  Wm.  B.*  Kyle,  Robert* 


Drake,  Jonathan* 
Drake,  Lemuel* 
Englehart,  H.  D. 
Facemire,  J.    W.* 
Fish,  Martin* 
Fisher,  Wm.  H. 
Gregorj^  John  W. 
Hamilton,  M.  T.* 
Harman,  Jacob* 
Harris,  Hosier  J.* 
Hatfield,  Abner* 
Hess,  Frederick* 
Hewitt,  Joseph  M. 


Lare,  John  C. 
Lewis,  Samuel  J. 
Long,  Peter 
Mead,  Edwin  R.* 
Miller,  James  E. 
Miller,  Benj.  F. 
Monroe,  Henry 

Moore,  George 
Moreland,  James 

Myers,  Jonathan 

Neal.  Chris  C. 

Nettle,  Geo.  W. 

Korth,  James  M.'^ 


Hewitt,   Henry       VPalmer,  Henry  W. 
House,  James*  Parker,  Oscar 

House,  Michael*       Pocock,  Reuben* 
Hutchinson,  R.  D.*  Rains,  Franklin 
James,  Ernest*  Read,  Wm.  H. 

Koons,  John  D.        Reed,  John  A. 


Rex.  Wm. 
Rice,  John  W. 
Robinson,  C* 
Rodgers,  John  T. 
Rollins,  Benj.  F. 
Rusk.  James  W.* 
Sedam,  Charles 
Shafer,  C.  B.* 
Shafer,  Thos.  J. 
Shelley,  Silas* 
Shelley,  Joseph* 
Shipman,  James  O. 
Smith,  John* 
Steele,  John  A. 
^  Tarbox,  Nelson* 
Theas,  Ernest  H. 
Waldon.  Wm.* 
Ward,  John 
Weathers,  John  S. 
Winters,  Jeremiah. 


RECRUITS. 

Herrick,  Joseph        Hummel,  E. 
Howard,  John  Pryor,  Wm. 


W. 


Scott,  Theodore* 
Ward,  Joseph. 


Bailey,  Wm.  G.* 
Bailey,  Daniel  J.* 
Beaty,  John  W.* 
Brey,  Orrin  O.* 
Bruner,  John  F. 
Bruner,  Marion 
Callahan  John  M. 
Clark,  Jacob 
Cloud,  Wm. 
Cloud,  Daniel 
Cochran,  Oliver  P. 
Conaway,  John  W. 
Conrad,  Neal. 
Coary,  Samuel  H. 
Crouch,  Joshua  R. 
Davis,  Lanson* 
Dodson,  Joseph* 
Dodson,  Wm. 
Dorman,  Edward 
Douglass,  Geo.  K.'* 
Douglass,  Arthur* 

Davis,  Aaron  S 
Fabian,  John 
Qaskill,  Owen  S. 

The  above  company  was  not  made  up  entirely  of  men  from  Ohio 
County,  a  number  being  from  adjoining  territory,  principally  from 
Switzerland  County.  Sixty-two  men  and  officers  are  claimed  from  Ohio 
County  in  the  company.  Those  marked  with  a  star  are  from  adjoining 
territory.  Of  the  recruits,  only  the  residence  of  Scott  and  Ward  are 
given. 

The  Eighty-third  Regiment  was  organized  at  Lawrenceburgh,in  Sep- 
tember, 1862,  with  Benjamin  J.  Spooner  as  colonel,  and  in  a  few  weeks 
after  left  the  State  for  the  Mississippi  River.  The  organization  was 
composed  of  nine  companies  of  volunteers  for  three  years,  and  one  com- 
pany of  drafted  men.  The  latter  was  discharged  from  service  at  the 
expiration  of  nine  months  from  the  15th  of  November,  1862.  Upon 
reaching  Memphis  the  regiment  was  assigned  to  duty  with  the  army  then 
operating  in  west  Tennessee,  and  participated  in  the  march  to  the  Talla- 
hatchie, and  the  first  campaign  against  Vicksburg  in  December.  In 
the  latter  campaign  it  was  actively  engaged  in  the  assault  upon  the 
enemy's  works  at  Chickasaw  Bayou. 

In  January,  1863,  it  proceeded  up  the  Mississippi  with  the  expedi- 
tionary force  sent  into  Arkansas,  and  was  engaged  in  the  storming  and 
capture  of  Arkansas  Post,  on  the  Uth  of  January.     After  this  it   joined 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  213 

Gen.  Grant's  army,  then  occupying  Milliken's  Bend  and  Young's  Point, 
and  took  part  in  the  preliminary  operations  that  opened  the  campaign 
against  Vicksburg.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  it  moved  with  the  army 
in  its  march  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  and  after  crossing  to  the  east  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Champion  Hills,  on  the  16th 
of  May.  The  regiment  then  went  into  the  entrenched  works,  fronting 
those  of  the  enemy  at  Vicksburg,  and  remained  therein,  almost  con- 
stantly on  duty,  until  the  capitulation  of  the  enemy  on  the  4th  of 
July.  While  there  it  took  part  in  the  assaults  upon  the  rebel  works  on 
the  19th  and  22d  of  May.  The  regiment  next  marched  to  Jackson,  and 
participated  in  the  siege  and  capture  of  that  place. 

Upon  the  termination  of  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  the  Eighty-third 
proceeded  up  the  Mississippi,  with  Sherman's  army,  to  Memphis,  and 
from  thence  marched  across  the  country  to  Chattanooga,  where,  on  the 
25th  of  November,  it  participated  in  the  great  victory  over  the  enemy  at 
Mission  Ridge.  During  the  winter  of  1863  the  regiment  remained  in 
camp  in  the  vicinity  of  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  and  in  the  spring  following, 
engaged  in  the  Atlanta  campaign.  Marching  with  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee,  southward  to  Atlanta,  it  was  actively  engaged  in  all  the 
movements  of  that  successful  campaign,  engaging  in  the  battles  at 
Resaca,  Dallas,  New  Hope  Church,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  the  repulse  of 
Hood's  army  on  the  22d  and  28th  of  July,  near  Atlanta,  and  the  battle 
of  Jonesboro.  After  the  occupation  of  Atlanta,  the  Eighty-third  moved 
northward  in  pursuit  of  Hood's  army,  and  after  aiding  in  driving  the 
enemy  into  northern  Alabama,  returned  to  Atlanta. 

In  November  Sherman's  army  commenced  its  march  through  Georgia 
to  Savannah,  and  the  Eighty-third  moved  with  it,  reaching  Savannah  on 
the  21st  of  December.  In  the  assault  upon  and  capture  of  Fort  Mc- 
Allister, near  Savannah,  the  regiment  was  engaged,  thus  opening  Sher- 
man's communications  with  the  sea.  It  next  proceeded  to  Beaufort, 
from  whence  it  marched  through  the  Carolinas  to  Goldsboro,  engaging 
the  enemy  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  Bentonville,  N.  C. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  active  military  operations  in  those  States,  the 
regiment  moved  to  Washington  City,  marching  through  Raleigh,  Peters- 
burgh,  Richmond  and  Fredericksburgh.  At  Washington  it  formed  a 
portion  of  the  marching  column  at  the  grand  review  of  Sherman's 
heroes,  and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1865,  was  mustered  out  of  service,  and 
proceeded  homeward.  Reaching  Indianapolis,  it  was  present  at  a  grand 
reception  given  to  returned  soldiers  in  the  capitol  grounds  on  the  9th  of 
June.  On  this  occasion  addresses  were  made  by  Gov.  Morton,  Gen, 
Hovey  and  Col.  Ben  Spooner. 

The  remaining  recruits,  upon  the  muster  out  of  the  organization  at 


214 


HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


Washington,  was  transferred  to  the  Forty-eighth  Indiana,  and  continued 
to  serve  with  that  regiment  until  its  miigter  out  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
July  15,  1865. 

The  Eighty-third  has  traveled  over  4,000  miles  by  land,  1,800  upon 
steamboats  and  485  by  rail,  making  a  total  of  6,285  miles  traveled 
during  its  term  of  service.  It  has  been  engaged  in  several  minor  battles 
and  skirmishes  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  in  this  sketch,  and  has 
been  under  tire  for  over  200  days. 

The  Second  Battery  Light  Artillery,  Indiana  Volunteers,  was  organ- 
ized at  Indianapolis,  on  the  5th  of  August,  and  mustered  into  service 
August  9,  1861,  with  David  G.  Rabb,  Rising  Sun,  as  captain.  Its  suc- 
cessive commissioned  officers  were: 

Capt.  David  G.  Rabb. 

Capt.  Johu  W.  Rabb,  Rising  Sun. 

Capt.  Hugh  Espey,  Jr.,  Rising  Sun. 

First  Lieut.  John  W.  Rabb. 

First  Lieut.  M.  K.  Haines,  Rising  Sun. 

First  Lieut.  Hugh  Espey,  Jr. 

First  Lieut.  M.  H.  Masterson,  Salem. 

First  Lieut.  Wm.W.  Haines,  Rising  Sun. 

On  the  reorganization  of  the  battery  the  successive  commissioned 
officers  were: 

Capt.  James  S.  Whicher.  Second  Lieut.  John  Stewart. 

First  Lieut.  George  B.  Sink.  Second  Lieut.  John  Heardon,  Huntsville. 

First  Lieut.  John  Stewart,  Lewisville.  Second  Lieut.C.W.  Johnson,  Indianapolis. 

The  enlisted  men  from  Ohio  County,  as  nearly  as  can  be  obtained 
(the  place  of  residence  of  probably  one  half  of  the  battery  not  given  in 
the  adjutant-general's  report)  were  as  follows: 


First  Lieut.  J.  S.  Whicher,  Indianapolis. 
Second  Lieut.  Hugh  Espey,  Jr. 
Second  Lieut.  Mathew  H.  Masterson. 
Second  Lieut.  William  W.  Haines. 
Second  Lieut.  James  S.  Whicher. 
Second  Lieut.  John  L.  Miles,  Rising  Sun. 
Second  Lieut.  George  B.  Sink,  Rising  Sun. 


First  Sergt.  William  W.  Haines. 
Q.  M.-Sergt.  John  L.  Miles. 
Sergt.  Abner  McFarland. 
Sergt.  George  B.  Sink. 
Sergt.  William  P.  Harris. 
Corp.  James  Buchanan. 

PRIVATES. 

Barricklow,  George  Knollman,  Henry      Ammen,  Wm.  P 


Corp.  DeWitt  C.  Bonnell. 
Corp.  Jesse  H.  Jones. 
Corp.  Samuel  Mullen. 
Bugler  Benjamin  F.  Pepper. 
Artificer  James  M.  Long. 


Barricklow,  Fred  McArthur,  Jerome  Arford,  James  R 

Buchanan,  Perry  Mitcliell,  John 

Carlisle,  Wm.  H.  Peaslee,  Abraham 

Carpenter,  John  S.  Reed,  James  S. 

Downey,  Rufus  K.  Rupker,  Frederick  Clore,  James 

Eastman,  Wm.  E.  Scott,  Samuel  E.  Conner,  Robert  C 

Fowler.  Henry  Scoggin,  Elisha  Craft,  George  A. 

Hall,  Peter  Summers,  Henry  Corson,  Eli 

Hasbough,  L.  Vehouse,  Frederick  Dugal,  Samuel 

Hunt,  Martin  V.  Volkman,  Henry  Gillis,  William  H. 


Hewitt,  William 
Mapes,  George 
Burgas,  Levi  H.         Pate,  Smith 
Campbell,  Sam.  M.    Ricketts,  Robert 
Campbell,  Hudson     Rabb,  George  J. 


Steele,  William  A. 
Spore,  Isaac 
Spore,  George  W. 
Todd,  Thomas  E. 
Todd,  James. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  215 

Fifty-five  men  are  claimed  to  have  served  from  the  county  in  the 
above  battery. 

On  the  5th  of  September  the  battery  left  Indianapolis  by  rail  for  St. 
Louis,  where  it  went  into  camp  until  the  25th  of  September,  when  it 
embarked  on  a  steamer  and  proceeded  up  the  Missouri  River  to  Jefferson 
City.  Disembarking  at  that  place,  it  encamped  in  the  vicinity  until  the 
4th  of  October,  and  then  marched  with  part  of  Gen.  Hunter's  division  to 
Tipton.  Remaining  there  until  the  17th,  it  moved  southward,  passing 
near  Versailles  and  through  Warsaw  to  Mount  View,  and  thence  to  Spring- 
field, Mo. 

From  Springfield  it  moved  into  Kansas,  going  into  quarters  at  Fort 
Leavenworth  daring  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  of  1862  moving  to 
Fort  Scott.  On  the  28d  of  May,  the  battery  marched  from  Fort  Scott 
to  lola,  Kas.,  where  it  remained  in  camp  until  the  1st  of  June,  and  then 
marched  to  Baxter's  Springs,  on  Spring  River,  in  the  Indian  Territory. 
On  the  5th,  with  four  pieces  of  the  battery,  a  detachment  marched  with 
an  expedition  from  Baxter's  Springs  to  Round  Grove,  on  Cow  Skin  Prai- 
rie, in  Cherokee  Nation,  where,  coming  upon  the  enemy's  force,  under 
Col.  Coffee,  a  fight  ensued  about  dark  on  the  5th.  The  enemy  was 
routed,  after  the  firing  of  six  rounds  of  shot  and  shell,  and  a  large 
amount  of  live  stock,  equipage  and  munitions  of  war  captured.  On  the 
28th  of  June,  the  battery  marched  from  Baxter's  Springs  with  Col.  Sol- 
omon's brigade,  upon  an  expedition  against  the  rebel  Indians.  Moving 
southward  into  the  Cherokee  Nation,  the  enemy  under  Gen.  Rains  was 
encountered  at  Round  Grove,  and  before  our  forces  could  attack  them, 
the  enemy  fled.  Returning  to  Fort  Scott,  the  battery  took  part  in  sev- 
eral expeditions  sent  out  from  that  place.  It  engaged  the  enemy  at  Lone 
Jack,  Mo.,  on  the  9th  of  September,  and  at  Newtonia,  Mo.,  October  10. 

Moving  into  Arkansas,  it  participated  in  engagements  with  the  ene- 
my at  Fort  Wayne,  on  the  28th  of  October;  at  Cane  Hill,  on  the  27th  of 
November;  at  Prairie  Grove,  on  the  7th  to  9th  of  December,  and  at  Van 
Buren  on  the  29th  of  December.  During  the  following  spring  the  bat- 
tery was  stationed  at  Springfield,  Mo.,  from  whence,  in  July,  1863,  the 
greater  portion  was  detached  and  sent  to  the  field  in  Arkansas  and 
Indian  Territory.  On  the  28th  of  August  this  detachment  took  part  in 
the  battle  at  Perryville,  in  the  Choctaw  Nation,  and  on  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember it  was  engaged  in  the  fight  at  Cotton  Gap,  Ark.  The  battery 
again  united,  participated  in  the  battle  of  Buffalo  Mountain,  on  the  25th 
of  October,  ^fter  which  it  moved  to  Waldron  and  Fort  Smith,  Ark.  In 
January,  1864,  a  small  portion  of  men  re-enlisted  as  veteran  volunteers. 
The  battery  continued  to  operate  in  western  Arkansas  during  the  winter, 
spring  and  summer  of  1864.      On  the  11th  and  12th  of  April  it  engaged 


■216  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUxNTIES. 

the  enemy  at  Prairie  de  Ann,  Ark,  and  on  the  13th  at  Moscow,  Ark.  On 
the  18th  of  the  same  month  it  participated  in  the  battle  of  Poisoned 
Spring,  Ark.,  in  which  it  lost  two  guns,  and  on  the  28th  it  fought  the 
enemy  at  Mark's  Mills,  Ark.  On  the  29th  and  30th  of  April,  it  again 
engaged  the  enemy  at  Jenkins'  Ferry  on  Saline  River,  after  which  it 
moved  to  Fort  Smith.  At  this  place  on  the  29fch,  30th  and  31st  of  July, 
it  took  part  in  the  battles  fought  in  defense  of  the  fort,  and  assisted  in 
defeating  the  enemy.  In  September  it  returned  to  Indianapolis,  where 
the  non-veterans  were  mustered  out  of  service,  and  the  organization 
broken  up. 

The  battery  was  reorganized  at  Indianapolis,  on  the  18th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1864,  with  James  S.  Whicher  (first  lieutenant  of  the  old  organiza- 
tion) as  captain.  In  December  it  proceeded  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  where 
it  remained  until  the  latter  part  of  June,  1865.  While  there  it  took 
part  in  the  battle  at  Nashville  on  the  15th  and  16th  of  December,  1864. 
Returning  to  Indianapolis,  with  113  men  for  muster  out,  it  was  present 
at  a  reception  given  to  the  returned  soldiers  in  the  capitol  grounds  on 
the  30th  of  June,  at  which  speeches  were  made  by  Lieut. -Gov.  Baker, 
Gen.  Hovey  and  others.  On  the  3d  of  July,  1865,  the  battery  was  mus- 
tered out,  and  the  officers  and  men  finally  discharged.  During  the  term 
of  service  of  the  two  organizations,  the  Second  Battery  marched  11,500 
miles  and  lost  one  officer  and  twenty  seven  men  killed. 

Company  B,  Fourth   Cavalry  (Seventy- seventh  Indiana  Volunteers) 
had  for  its  successive  commissioned  officers  as  follows: 
Capt.  .John  A.  Platter.  Second  Lieut.  William  T.  Pepper. 

Capt.William  T.  Pepper  (of  Rising  Sun).       Second  Lieut.  .John  H.  Thompson. 
Capt.  John  H.  Thompson.  Second  Lieut.  William  H.  H.  Isgri^a;g. 

First  Lieut.  William  H.  Bracken. 

The  enlisted  men  from  Ohio  County  as  nearly  as  can  be  obtained 
(the  place  of  residence  and  the  company  not  given  in  the  adjutant-gen- 
eral's report)  were: 

Williams,  Oliver  H.  Clark,  Joseph  M.        Harryman,  Samuel    Shoup,  George 
Barker,  Philip  B.       French,  George  W.  Jameison,  Robert  A.  Smith,  George  W. 
Hall,  D.  B.  Fox,  Frank  Lambdin,WilliamT.  Smith,  William  F. 

Newman,  George  W.  Harris,  James  Myers,  James  Whitlock,  John  T. 

Scoggin,  Elijah  Harris,  Charles  M.     Miles,  James  Youge,  William 

Barman, Marmaduke  Hoover,  Robert  McAlister,  Edward 

Bedgood, Alfred         Hayman,  GeorgeW.  Spore,  Isaac 

RECRUITS : 

Bowman,  Isaac  Lemon.  George  W.      Parker,  Oscar  Spore,  Samuel 

Jackson,  Albion        Neal,  Jacob  Richmond,  Eli  S.       St.  Clair,  Henry. 

The  Seventy-seventh  Regiment  was  organized  at  Indianapolis  on  the 
22d  of  August,  1862,  with  Isaac  P.  Gray  as   colonel.      On    the    comple- 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  217 

tion  of  its  organization  the  aspect  of  affairs  in  Kentucky  was  so  threat- 
ening that  the  regiment  was  divided,  four  companies  being  sent  under 
command  of  Maj.  John  A.  Platter  to  Henderson,  Ky.,  and  the  remain- 
ing companies  to  Louisville,  from  whence  they  were  ordered  into  the  in- 
terior, where  they  were  joined  by  Col.  Gray. 

The  battalion  under  command  of  Maj.  Platter  had  a  skirmish  with 
the  enemy  at  Madisonville,  Ky.,  on  the  26th  of  August,  and  again  at 
Mount  Washington,  on  the  1st  of  October,  in  which  a  number  were 
killed  and  wounded.  On  the  5th  of  October  it  engaged  the  rebels  at 
Madisonville,  suffering  some  loss.  In  the  spring  of  1863  this  battalion 
joined  the  other  companies,  and  after  this  the  regiment  served  together, 
with  the  exception  of  Company  C,  which  became  the  escort  for  Gen.  A. 
J.  Smith,  and  followed  the  fortunes  of  that  officer's  command. 

During  the  invasion  of  Bragg,'a  portion  of  the  battalion  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Gray,  went  into  camp  for  a  brief  period  near  Madi- 
son, Ind. ,  and  moved  from  thence  to  Vevay,  near  which  place  it  crossed 
the  Ohio  River  and  moved,  on  a  tour  of  duty,  through  Owen,  Henry  and 
adjoining  Counties,  Kentucky,  reaching  Frankfort  about  the  24th  of  Oc- 
tober. Soon  after  the  companies  of  this  battalion  were  stationed  at  Gal- 
latin, from  whence  they  moved  after  John  H.  Morgan's  forces  toward  Green 
River.  On  the  25th  of  December  the  battalion  fought  Morgan  near 
Mumfordsville  and  defeated  him,  suffering  a  slight  loss.  Moving  into 
Tennessee  in  January,  1863,  it  reached  Murfreesboro  in  February,  in 
which  vicinity  it  operated  for  some  months,  fighting  the  enemy  at  Ruther- 
ford's Creek,  on  the  10th  of  March.  On  the  28th  of  March  it  was  act- 
ively engaged  in  feeling  the  enemy  near  Murfreesboro.  At  this  time 
the  battalion  was  commanded  by  Col.  L.  S.  Shuler.  The  regiment,  now 
united,  moved  with  Rosecrans  in  the  campaign  toward  Tullahoma  and 
Chattanooga,  participating  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  on  the  19th 
and  20th  of  September,  and  again  engaging  the  enemy  on  the  23d  of 
September.  Crossing  the  Tennessee,  it  fought  the  rebels  at  Fay ettevi lie, 
Tenn.,  on  the  1st  of  November,  losing  a  few  of  its  members. 

The  regiment  marched  into  east  Tennessee  early  in  December,  where 
it  remained  during  the  winter  of  1863-64.  During  this  campaign  it 
held  the  advanced  position  in  all  the  cavalry  movements,  and  was  con- 
spicuously engaged  in  the  battles  of  Mossy  Creek,  Talbott's  and  Dund 
ridge,  for  which  it  was  highly  complimented  in  the  reports  of  brigade 
and  division  commanders.  On  the  27th  of  January,  1864,  a  severe  fight 
occurred  at  Fair  Garden  between  the  division  to  which  it  was  attached 
and  two  rebel  divisions,  the  latter  having  been  driven  during  the  day 
eight  miles.  Capt.  Rosecrans,  with  the  second  battalion  of  the  Fourth 
Cavalry,  dismounted  as  skirmishers,  charged  with  the  Second  Indiana 


218  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

and  First  Wisconsin  Cavalry  (also  dismounted)  on  the  enemy's  skirmish- 
ers. Maj.  Purdy,  with  the  first  battalion  supported  by  Lilly's  Eighteenth 
Indiana  Battery,  and  the  remaining  four  companies  of  the  Fourth  Cav- 
alry, were  ordered  to  a  "sabre  charge"  on  a  rebel  battery.  This  charge 
was  led  by  Lieut. -Col.  Leslie,  and  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  battery, 
one  battle  flag  and  more  prisoners  than  the  charging  party  had  men 
engaged.  The  enemy  were  completely  routed,  and  fled  in  disorder  to 
the  mountains.  Lieut. -Col.  Leslie  fell  while  gallantly  leading  his  men 
on  to  victory,  pierced  through  the  breast  with  a  rebel  bullet.  The  other 
losses  to  the  regiment  were  but  few. 

In  March  the  regiment  arrived  at  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  and  in  May 
moved  with  the  cavalry  of  Sherman's  army  in '  the  campaign  against 
Atlanta.  On  the  9th  of  May,  it  fought  the  enemy  at  Varnell's  Station, 
Ga. ,  and  on  the  2d  of  June  it  had  a  skirmish  near  Burnt  Chiirch.  It 
next  moved  on  the  McCook  raid,  participating  in  the  tight  at  Newnan  on 
the  31st  of  July,  and  in  all  the  movements  of  that  expedition. 

After  the  capture  of  Atlanta  it  marched  into  Tennessee,  and  engaged 
the  enemy  at  Columbia,  Tenn.,  in  Octobei*.  In  November  it  was  sta- 
tioned near  Louisville,  serving  with  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  First 
Cavalry  Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps  of  the  Military  Division  of  the 
Mississippi.  In  January,  1865,  it  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  and 
in  the  following  month  at  Waterloo,  Ala.  Moving  into  Alabama  with 
Gen.  Wilson's  forces,  it  participated  in  the  active  campaign  in  that  State 
and  Georgia,  engaging  in  the  battles  of  Plantersviile  and  Selma.  Leav- 
ing Macon,  Ga.,  in  May,  it  reached  Nashville  and  went  into  the  Provis- 
ional Cavalry  Camp  at  Edgefield,  where  it  remained  until  mustered  out 
of  service  on  the  29th  of  June,  1865.  After  its  muster  out  the  regiment 
remained  at  Nashville  a  few  days  until  it  was  finally  discharged  and  paid, 
when  the  organization  was  broken  up,  and  the  officers  and  men  returned 
to  their  respective  homes  without  coming  to  the  State  capital  in  a  body. 

Company  C  was  detailed  to  serve  as  escort  to  Gen.  A.  J.  Smith,  and 
engaged  in  all  the  operations  of  the  command  of  that  ofiicer,  including 
the  campaign  and  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  the  Red  River  expedition.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1864  it  returned  to  the  regiment,  aud  served  with  it  until  its 
final  discharge. 

In  addition  to  the  above-named  companies,  Ohio  County  was  repre- 
sented in  various  other  organizations  in  both  the  army  and  navy  to  the 
number  of  twenty-five  men,  making  a  grand  total  of  382  enlistments  in 
the  service  from  Ohio  County.  The  organizations  to  which  the  men 
belonged  participated  in  eighty- four  engagements,  while  the  loss  of  life 
from  wounds  and  disease  exceeded  100.  The  county  sustained  an  hon- 
orable part,  and  claims  a  full  share  of  the  glory  on  the  records  of  the  reg- 
iments in  which  its  men  fought  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  219 

THE  MOKGAN  RAID. 

The  following  account  of  Morgan's  Raid  is  from  the  Centennial 
address  of  George  W.  Morse,  delivered  at  Rising  Sun,  July  4,  1878: 

"July  7,  1863,  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan,  of  the  Confederate  army,  with 
a  mounted  force  of  3,000  or  4,000  men,  and  six  pieces  of  artillery,  captured 
two  steamers,  the  "J.  T.  McCoombs"  and  "Alice  Dean,"  at  Brandy  wine, 
Ky.  Information  was  sent  to  Corydon,  and  Capt.  G.  W.  Lyon,  of  the 
Indiana  Legion,  with  one  gun  and  thirty  men  arrived  at  Mauckport,  the 
night  of  the  8th,  when  Col.  Timberlake  took  command,  having  100  men 
of  the  legion  additional.  He  proceeded  to  a  point  opposite  Branden- 
burg, and  placed  the  gun  in  position  by  7  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
As  soon  as  the  fog  lifted  Capt.  Lyon  sent  a  shot  through  the  "McCombs", 
and  several  at  the  rebels  who  retreated  from  her.  But  Morgan's  guns 
were  soon  returning  the  tire,  killing  two  men.  The  forces  of  the  legion 
fell  back,  and  two  regiments  of  rebel  soldiers  crossed,  formed  under  the 
bank,  advanced  and  charged,  taking  the  gun  and  several  prisoners.  Col. 
Timberlake  fell  back  toward  Corydon,  where  all  the  forces  available  at 
so  short  a  notice  had  taken  post;  these  were  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Lewis  Jordan,  of  the  Sixth  Legion,  and  numbered  about  400  men.  In 
the  meantime  Morgan  crossed  his  forces,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  9th, 
advanced  upon  Col.  Jordan's,  which  fell  back  to  within  one  mile  of 
Corydon.  Here  the  tight  was  maintained  for  half  an  hour.  When  his 
little  band  was  flanked,  and  in  danger  of  total  destruction,  he  surren- 
dered, loss  three  men  killed,  and  one  fatally  and  one  badly  wounded. 
Morgan's  loss  was  eight  killed,  and  thirty-three  badly  wounded.  The 
prisoners  were  robbed  and  then  paroled. 

"  We  will  not  stop  to  describe  the  progress  of  Morgan's  forces  further, 
but  simply  relate  the  incidents  connected  with  Col.  Williams'  command, 
composed  in  part  of  three  companies  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  Fourth 
Brigade  of  the  Indiana  Legion. 

"On  the  8th  of  September,  Brig.-Gen.  A.  C.  Downey  received  orders 
from  Gov.  Morton  to  send  as  many  companies  of  the  legion  as  possible 
to  Seymour,  as  Morgan  had  entered  Indiana.  Col.  H.  T.  Williams 
ordered  Capt.  J.  C.  Wells,  Jackson  Barricklow  and  John  R.  Cole,  to  be 
ready  to  proceed  the  next  morning.  They  did  so,  going  by  wagon  to 
Aurora,  and  thence  by  rail  to  Seymour,  where  they  arrived  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  9th.  They  numbered  about  185  men,  all  told.  On  the  next 
day  (July  10)  Col.  Williams  received  orders  to  proceed  with  all  haste 
to  Madison.  The  cars  were  soon  got  ready  and  the  command  was  con- 
veyed back  to  North  Vernon,  where  information  was  soon  received  that 
Morgan's  forces  were  approaching  South  Vernon.  Col.  Burkam,  with 
several  companies  of  the  legion   from  Dearborn  County,  remained  while 


220  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Col.  Williams,  with  the  companies  from  Ohio  County,  and  a  battery  of 
two  six- pound  guns  and  three  rounds  of  ammunition  marched  to  South 
Vernon.  Some  difference  of  opinion  on  the  management  of  the  defense 
seems  to  have  led  to  this  result;  the  two  colonels  named,  being  the  high- 
est officers  present,  adopted  separate  modes  of  action.  The  command 
was  halted  in  a  grove  of  small  trees  about  one- quarter  of  a  mile  from 
North  Vernon,  the  men  stacking  arms  and  falling  out  of  line.  In  a  few 
minutes  a  scout  came  riding  swiftly  from  the  direction  of  the  enemy, 
and  told  the  officers: 

"  'Moro-an  is  coming,  is  only  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  east  of 
town.' 

"  'Can  yoa  tell  how  many  men  he  has.^'  asked  the  colonel. 

"  'As  near  as  1  can  guess  about  6,000,"  replied  the  scout. 

"  'I  don't  care  a  d — n  if  there  are  60,000,  do  you 'f'  said  Oapt.  W., 
turning  to  his  orderly. 

"  'Well,  no,'  replied  the  latter,  'only  it  would  take  longer  to  kill 
60,000  than  it  would  6,000.' 

"  'The  march  was  resumed,  and  in  about  half  an  hour,  on  a  bluff 
high  bank,  the  crest  of  a  hill  rising  suddenly  from  the  margin  of  the 
Muscatatac  River,  the  company  of  Capt.  Wells  stacked  arms  and  fell  out 
of  line,  hard  by  a  stone  church  or  schoolhouse.  In  a  few  minutes  a 
rapid  discharge  of  musketry  was  heard,  back  on  the  road  they  had  come, 
the  line  was  reformed,  the  firing  ceased,  the  men  standing  in  momentary 
expectation  of  an  attack.  They  afterward  learned  that  the  tiring  they 
had  heard  was  the  result  of  an  engagement  between  a  small  company  of 
movinted  citizens  and  a  detachment  of  Morgan's  men  sent  to  destroy  the 
telegraph  wires,  depots,  etc.,  which  was  in  part  prevented. 

"Across  the  Muscatatac,  on  the  crest  of  a  densely  wooded  hill,  not  more 
than  4,000  yards  from  the  schoolhouse  mentioned,  was  a  battery  of  four 
pieces  Morgan  had  just  planted;  it  was  entirely  concealed  by  the  thick 
undergrowth.  Capt.  Barricklow's  company  was  under  the  bluff,  a  little 
further  up  the  creek,  and  Capt.  Cole's  lying  on  the  railroad  near  the 
bridge  which  spans  the  creek.  Soon  after  a  man  with  a  white  flag  was 
seen  coming  across  the  creek  toward  the  main  road  leading  into  the 
town.  He  was  met  and  escorted  to  the  colonel  commanding  (H.  T. 
Williams),  of  whom  he  demanded  in  the  name  of  Gen.  Morgan,  an  un- 
conditional surrender  of  the  town  and  the  forces  under  his  command. 
Col.  Williams'  reply  was:  'No,  you  can't  take  my  men,  nor  the  town, 
without  a  hard  fight.'  The  bearer  of  the  flag  returned  to  Morgan  with 
that  answer.  Soon  after  another  flag  was  conducted  to  Col.  Williams, 
who  ordered  its  carrier  under  arrest,  he  being  found  within  the  lines 
without  proper  escort.     Col.  Williams  immediately  sent  over  to  North 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  ♦   221 

Vernon  for  aid,  in  the  hope  that  re- enforcements  had  arrived.  The  mes- 
senger met  Gen.  Love,  who  had  arrived  with  1,000  men,  who  were  then 
disembarking  from  the  cars.  On  arriving  at  the  front,  Gen.  Love 
ordered  the  flag  set  at  liberty,  at  the  same  time  sending  the  colonel  to 
Morgan  asking  '  two  hours  time  to  remove  women  and  children.'  In 
reply  to  this  demand  Col.  Williams  was  given  fifteen  minutes  to  return 
and  thirty  minutes  additional  to  remove  the  women  and  children  when 
the  battle  Avill  commence.  Capt.  Wells'  company  was  placed  on  the 
railroad  track,  the  high  embankment  of  which  was  a  good  breast- work, 
and  as  night  settled  over  the  scene  a  solemn  silence  came  with  it. 

"All  of  Col.  Williams'  men  and  Col.  Burkams',  they  having  come 
from  North  Vernon,  now  lay  along  the  railroad  track,  and  as  the  time 
approached  for  the  struggle  to  begin,  it  would  be  idle  to  say  there  was 
no  anxiety,  no  apprehension.  Suddenly,  on  the  hill  where  the  masked 
battery  had  been  planted  by  Morgan,  there  were  two  explosions  heard, 
following  each  other  so  rapidly  they  nearly  blended  in  one — a  shell  had 
been  tired  from  a  cannon;  this  was  supposed  to  be  the  signal  to  begin 
the  battle.  Soon  the  regular  tread  of  a  column  of  infantry  was  heard 
(for  it  was  too  dark  to  see),  tramp — tramp— it  passed,  and  word  was 
brought  that  it  was  a  Michigan  regiment — 800  strong. 

"The  sky  had  been  getting  red,  and  now  began  to  cast  back  to  the 
earth  the  glare  of  the  many  tires  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  It  should 
have  been  stated  that  there  was  a  mistake  with  one  of  the  Dearborn 
County  companies,  at  about  the  time  the  attack  was  expected.  Some  of 
the  inhabitants  had  collected  the  cattle  and  horses  in  the  town  and  drove 
them  furiously  to  the  ford  of  the  Muscatatae,  intending  to  drive  them 
across  and  save  them.  The  company  stationed  at  this  ford  imagined  it 
was  the  onset  of  the  enemy,  and  in  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  this 
night  attack,  went  over  the  bank,  falling  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet,  badly  injuring  a  number  of  them.  The  night  wore  away  without 
any  further  alarms,  save  the  explosion  of  a  caisson  on  the  hill  mentioned 
before;  morning  came— forty  pieces  of  artillery  were  then  ready  to 
belch  death  and  destruction,  on  many  regiments  of  men  eager  for  the 
fray — but  Morgan— where  was  he?  In  the  foremost  ranks  of  his  flying 
columns,  miles  eastward,  near  Versailles — they  hardly  knew  of  his  de- 
parture— he  could  not  delay  to  call  in  the  pickets,  the  lines  were  tight- 
ening around  him — a  great  many  horses  were  also  taken.  The  next 
day  the  advance  was  made  on  foot  to  Sunman  Station,  where  it  was 
found  that  Morgan  had  already  crossed  the  line  into  Ohio,  The  regi- 
ment proceeded  to  Lawrenceburgh,  and  thence  home  to  Ohio  County. 

"We  close  the  account  of  the  raid  by  7naking  one  extract  from  Gen. 
Love's  report  to  Gov.    Morton,    dated  July  20,  1863.     He  says:   '  It  is 


222  '  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

due  to  Col.  Williams  and  his  gallant  regiment  from  Ohio  County  to  say, 
with  only  200  men  of  his  regiment,  and  the  armed  citizens  of  Jennings 
County  he  refused  to  surrender  Vernon  to  Morgan's  force  of  4,500  with 
five  pieces  of  artillery.  *  *  *  The  failure  to  take  Vernon  was  the 
first  check  he  had  received  since  entering  our  State.'  " 

In  the  report  of  W.  H.  H.  Terrell,  adjutant-general  of  Indiana,  of 
the  Morgan  raid  in  the  State  in  July,  1863,  it  is  stated  that  "  at  5  o'clock 
July  13,  Morgan  moved  eastwardly  from  his  bivouac  a  few  miles  from 
Sunman's,  in  the  direction  of  the  Ohio  line,  crossing  the  railroad  at 
three  stations— Harmon's,  Van  Weddon's  and  Weisburg.  The  bridges 
and  track  at  all  three  places  were  destroyed,  and  a  water  tank  at  Van 
Weddon's  burned.  Passing  rapidly  on  by  Hubbell's  Corner,  New  Alsace, 
Dover  and  Logan,  the  rebel  advance  reached  Harrison,  Ohio,  a  little 
after  12  o'clock  noon." 

Concerning  the  action  and  behavior  of  the  raiders  as  they  passed 
through  Harrison,  says  the  author  of  the  History  of  Hamilton  County, 
Ohio,  "about  1  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  13th  (July),  the  advance 
of  the  rebel  command  was  seen  streaming  down  the  hillsides  on  the  west 
side  of  the  valley,  and  the  alarm  was  at  once  given  in  the  streets  of 
Harrison.  Citizens  hastened  at  once  to  secrete  valuables  and  run  off 
their  horses,  but  in  a  very  few  moments  the  enemy  was  swarming  all 
over  the  town.  The  raiders  generally  behaved  pretty  well,  offering  few 
insults  to  the  people  and  maltreating  no  woman  or  other  person.  They 
secured  what  horses  they  could,  thronged  the  stores,  taking  whatever 
they  fancied.  One  gentleman,  who  kept  a  drug  store,  was  despoiled  of 
nothing  but  soap  and  perfumery.  Similar  incidents  were  related  of 
other  shops  in  the  village,  and  from  one  and  another  a  large  amount  of 
goods  in  the  aggregate  was  taken,  but  there  was  no  robbery  from  house 
to  house  or  from  the  person;  and  after-a  few  hours'  stay,  having  refreshed 
themselves  and  their  horses  and  gained  all  desired  information,  the  head 
of  the  column  began  to  tile  out  of  the  village  in  the  direction  of  Cincin- 
nati on  the  Harrison  turnpike. ' ' 

The  accident  that  occurred  at  Lawrenceburgh  during  the  "  raid"  was 
thus  described  by  the  late  adjutant-general  above  referred  to: 

"The  resistance  and  pursuit  of  the  rebels  was  as  nearly  bloodless  as 
any  hostile  movement  on  so  large  a  scale  could  be,  but  it  was  destined  to 
cause  more  bloodshed  after  its  departure  than  it  did  by  its  presence. 
On  the  evening  of  the  13th,  Col.  Gavin,  in  command  at  Lawrenceburgh, 
havino-  been  informed  that  Morgan  had  taken  Harrison  and  had  turned 
back  and  was  advancing  upon  Lawrenceburgh,  took  prompt  measures  to 
meet  him.  He  sent  out  his  own  regiment,  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth, 
half  a  mile  beyond  Hardintown, on  the  turnpike,  where  a  strong  barricade 


*  MILITARY  HISTORY.  223 

was  constructed,  and  a  line  of  battle  was  formed  along  the  towpath  of 
the  canal  so  as  to  use  the  canal  bank  as  a  defense.  Col.  Shryock's  reg- 
iment, the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth,  was  ordered  to  take  position  half  a 
mile  in  the  rear.  About  9  o'clock  at  night,  while  marching  to  the 
assigned  position  through  a  very  short  curve  in  the  road  at  Hardintown, 
the  rear  of  the  column  seeing  the  head  indistinctly  in  the  darkness,  and 
unaware  of  the  curve  which  threw  the  men  in  front  on  a  line  parallel 
with  those  in  the  rear,  mistook  it  for  a  portion  of  the  expected  enemy's 
force,  and  a  shot  accidentally  fired  at  the  moment  made  the  impression  so 
strong,  that  they  fired  into  thg  advance.  The  advance,  of  course,  mis- 
took the  fire  for  that  of  the  enemy  and  returned  it.  Col.  Shryock 
instantly  rode  down  the  line  to  stop  the  firing,  telling  the  men  that  they 
were  killing  their  comrades,  but  though  promptly  obeyed  he  was  too  late 
to  prevent  a  serious  catastrophe.  Five  men  were  killed,  one  mortally 
and  eighteen  more  or  less  wounded,  the  following  is  a  list  of  the  casual- 
ties caused  by  this  sad  mistake: 

Killed. — Sergeant,  John  Gordon;  privates,  Oliver  P.  Jones,  William 
Faulkner,  Ferdinand  Hefner  and  John  Porter. 

Wounded. — Captains,  A.  K.  Branham  and  William  Nicholson; 
lieutenants,  William  E.  Hart  (mortally),  Samuel  Bewsey  and  Joel  New- 
man; sergeants,  Richard  M.  Baker,  John  Pyle  and  James  E.  Bates; 
privates,  Samuel  E.  Duncan,  Edmund  Bloomfield,  Martin  Hoover,  Will- 
iam Flint,  David  S.  Gooding,  W.  G.  Johnson,  D.  W.  Parish,  R.  T. 
Raines,  Jabez  Wilson,  Allen  R.  Bates  and Hart." 


DRAFTS,    BOUNTIES,   ETC. 

The  war  called  for  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  entire  male  popula- 
tion that  the  quota  was  not  in  all  cases  filled  without  difiiculty.  Drafts 
and  the  offer  of  large  bounties  to  volunteers  were  found  necessary,  hence 
many  of  the  recruits  on  being  mustered  into  service  received  considera- 
ble bounty. 

The  draft  assignment  of  October  6,  1862,  to  Dearborn  County  was  as 
follows:  Harrison  Township,  22;  Logan  Township,  22;  Kelso  Township, 
44;  Jackson  Township,  14;  Cesar  Creek  Township,  6. 

The  men  who  filled  the  quota  of  Dearborn  County  were,  with  the 
exception  of  an  inconsiderable  fraction,  volunteers.  The  county,  with  a 
total  militia  enrollment,  in  September,  1862,  of  3,252  had  1,753  volun- 
teers, 1,528  of  whom  were  then  in  the  field,  requiring  the  following 
month  the  draft  only  of  108  men. 

Ohio  County,  with  a  total  militia  enrollment,  in  September,  1862,  of 
796  had  387  volunteers,  299  of  whom  were   in  the  field,  requiring   the 


224 


HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


following  month  the  draft  of  only  15  men,  the  draft  assignment  being 
to  Cass  Township. 

COUNTY    EXPENDITURES. 

Exhibit  showing  the  amounts  expended  for  local  bounties,  for  relief 
of  soldiers'  families,  and  for  miscellaneous  military  purposes  by  the 
county  and  townships  during  the  war: 

DEARBORN  COUNTY. 


County,  City  or  Township. 


Dearborn  County 

Harrison  Township 

Logan  Township 

Miller  Township 

Lawrenceburgh  Township. 

Center  Township 

Hogan  Township 

Manchester  Township 

York  Township 

Kelso  Township 

Jackson  Township 

Sparta  Township 

Cesar  Creek  Township  . .  . . 

Clay  Township 

Washington  Township 

Lawrenceburgh  City 

Aurora   Citj^ 


Dearborn  County  total. 
Grand  total 


Bounty. 


$201, 

11, 

9, 

3, 

10, 

21 


623  00 
750  00 
350  00 
100  00 
000  00 
833  00 


500  00 
090  00 
920  00 
950  00 
336  10 
230  00 


600  00 
,600  00 
,423  00 


$38,283  21 

400  00 

150  00 

1,150  00 

15.000  00 

17,250  00 

1,078  00 

3,500  00 

300  00 

325  00 

1,126  85 

2,732  00 

125  00 

425  00 

136  50 

54  86 

11,300  00 


$295,305  10    $93,335  45 


Miscellaneous. 


$396,016  17 


375  62 

7,000  00 


$7,375  62 


OHIO  COUNTY. 


County,  City  or  Township. 

Bounty. 

Relief 

Miscellaneous. 

Alii  A  Pnnntv                         

$37,000  00 

11,800  00 

4,800  00 

9,375  00 

5,600  00 

$4,769  78 

$424  95 

Pace  Tnwzn'shin                      

54  95 
333  64 

75  00 

Ohio  County  total 

$68,575  00  1        $5,158  37 

$499  95 

S^74.2,33  32 

AID    SOCIETIES,     DONATIONS,     ETC. 

Various  aid  societies  were  organized  throughout  the  counties  during 
the  war,  and  through  the  efforts  of  the  ladies,  many  delicacies  and  com- 
forts were  sent  to  the  field.  The  Aurora  Soldiers'  Aid  Society  as  a  branch  of 
the  Cincinnati  Sanitary  Commission  was  organized  in  March,  1862.  The 
Moore's  Hill  Soldiers'  Aid  Society  was  organized  by  the  ladies  soon  after 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  225 

the  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  was  received,  in  the  spring 
of  1862.  In  April,  1862,  the  ladies  on  Ebenezer  Ridge,  and  on  Wilson 
Creek  and  vicinity,  met  and  organized  a  Ladies'  Sanitary  Association 
The  Soldiers'  Relief  Society  of  Lawrenceburgh  Township,  was  organized 
December  22,  1864  Similar  societies  were  formed  elsewhere,  and  all  did  a 
noble  work.  The  report  of  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Society  of  Lawrenceburgh 
Township  made  in  July,  1865,  showed  receipts  of  $556.48. 

CLOSING  Scenes. 

The  following  extract  from  the  Aurora  Commercial  oi  April  13,  1865, 
will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  the  news  of  the  sur- 
render of  Gen.  Lee  and  his  army  was  received  by  the  people  of  Aurora: 
"Last  Monday  was  a  day  of  wild  excitement  in  this  city.  The  news  of 
Lee's  surrender,  following  so  quickly  upon  the  capture  of  Richmond,  was 
almost  too  much  of  a  good  thing,  and  produced  demonstrations  on  the 
part  of  some  of  our  patriotic  citizens,  that  would  under  other  circum- 
stances, be  disproportionate  to  their  years.  The  cannons  were  brought 
out,  the  bells  were  rung,  houses  illuminated,  and  the  town  poured  its 
population  into  the  streets,  to  witness  the  display  and  exchange  cono-rat- 
ulations.  Songs,  speeches,  and  shouts  of  joy  and  praise,  were  indulged 
in  until  a  late  hour,  when  all  retired  to  their  homes  to  dream  of  the  peace 
and  prosperity  in  store  for  our  beloved  country." 

The  Commercial  of  April  20,  1865,  referring  to  the  assassination  of 
President  Abraham  Lincoln,  remarked:  "  The  news  of  the  assassination 
of  President  Lincoln  has  produced  a  deep  impression  in  this  community; 
every  person  seems  to  feel  as  if  he  had  met  with  a  severe  and  irreparable 
loss.  Last  Sabbath|was  one  of  the  most  mournful  and  solemn  days  we 
have  ever  passed  in  Aurora.  Wherever  we  would  turn,  our  eyes  would 
rest  on  troubled  countenances,  which  bore  the  impress  of  a  deep  and 
abiding  affliction.  Men  conversed  with  each  other  in  undertones,  and 
even  the  spirits  of  the  children,  too  young  to  know  sorrow,  seemed  to  be 
oppi'essed  with  the  universal  sadness.  We  hope  we  may  never  see  such 
another  day. 

"Yesterday  nearly  our  whole  population  attended  the  public  exercises 
at  the  Methodist  and  Lutheran  Churches,  to  pay  their  last  sad  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  our  late  Pi'esident.  While  eloquent  speakers  discoursed 
of  the  virtues  of  the  deceased,  and  of  the  loss  the  country  has  sustained 
in  his  death,  the  sobs  of  women,  and  the  silent  tears  trickling  down  the 
cheeks  of  brave  men,  told  how  heavily  the  blow  had  fallen  upon  our 
patriotic  people.  God  grant  that  they  may  never  again  suffer  such  an 
affliction." 


226  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LIST.  OF  OFFICERS. 

Territorial  Judges  of  Dearborn  County— Circuit  Judges  of  Dear- 
born County— Common  Pleas  Judges  of  Dearborn  County— Asso 
ciATE  Judges  of  Dearborn  County— Probate  Judges  of  Dearborn 
County— Members  of  the  Territorial  Legislature— Members 
OF  Constitutional  Conventions— Members  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture from  Dearborn  County— Board  of  Magistrates  and  County 
Commissioners  of  Dearborn  County— Treasurers  of  Dearborn 
County — Clerks  of  Dearborn  County— Sheriffs  of  Dearborn 
County— Auditors  of  Dearborn  County— United  States  Officers 
—Circuit  Judges  of  Ohio  County— Commion  Pleas  Judges  of  Ohio 
County  —  Associate  Judges  of  Ohio  County*  —  Sheriffs  of  Ohio 
County— Recorders  of  Ohio  County— Clerks  of  Ohio  County- 
Auditors  OF  Ohio  County— Treasurers  of  Ohio  County— County 
Commissioners  of  Ohio  County— Members  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly FROM  Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties. 

territorial  judges  of  dearborn  county. 

BENJAMIN  CHAMBERS,  March  7,  1803  to  December  14,  1810. 
Jabez  Percival,  March  8,  1803  to  January  6,  1814 
Barnet  Hulick,  March  7,  1803  to  December  14,  1809. 
John  Brownson,  March  7,  1803  to  January  6,  1814. 
Jeremiah  Hunt,  March  7,  1803. 
Richard  Stevens,  March  7,  1803. 
William  Major,  March  7,  1803  to  January  6,  1814. 
James  McCarty,  March  7,  1803. 
Isaac  Dunn,  March  17,  1812  to  February  14,  1817. 
Elijah  Sparks,  January  16,  1814  (died  in  May  1815). 
James  Noble,  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  served  until  1816. 
Jesse  L.  Holman  was  also  a  Territorial  judge  at  the  time  of  the  ad- 
mission of  Indiana  into  the  Union. 

circuit  judges  of   dearborn  county. 
John  Test,  of  Franklin  County,  1818-19. 
John  Watts,  of  Dearborn  County,  1819-20. 
Miles  C.  Eggleston,  of  Jefferson  County,  1820-45. 
Courtland  Cushing,  of  Jefferson  County,  1845-47. 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS.  227 

George  H.  Diinn,  of  Dearborn  County,  1847-50. 

William  M.  McCarty,  1850-53. 

Keuben  D.  Logan,  1853-65. 

Jeremiah  M.  Wilson,  of  Fayette  County,  1865-69. 

Robert  N.  Lamb,  1869-71. 

Henry  C.  Hanna,  1871-73. 

Omar  F.  Roberts,  of  Dearborn  County,  1873-79. 

Noah  S.  Givan,  of  Dearborn  County,  1879-85. 

W.  H.  Bainbridge,  of  Dearborn  County,  1885. 

COMMON  PLEAS  JUDGES  OF  DEAEBOEN  COUNTY. 

William  S.  Holman,  of  Dearborn  County,  1853-56. 
Charles  N.  Shook,  1856-61. 
Francis  Adkinson,  1861-65, 
Robert  N.  Lamb,  1865-69. 
Scott  Carter,  1869-72. 

ASSOCIATE  JUDGES  OF  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

Solomon  Manwarring,  1816-30. 
John  Livingston. 
Isaac  Dunn,  1830-38. 
JohnM'Pike,  1830-35. 
Samuel  H.  Dowden,  1835-38. 
John  Livingston,  1838-45. 
Alfred  J.  Cotton,  1838-45. 
David  Conger,  1845-51. 
John  A.  Emrie,  1845-51. 

PROBATE  JUDGES  OF  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

George  H.  Dunn,  1829-31. 
John  Livingston,  1831-37. 
John  M'Pike,   1837. 
John  Palmer,  1837-43. 
Theodore  Gazlay,  1843. 
William  S.  Holman,  1843-47. 
Alfred  J.  Cotton,  1847-52. 

MEMBERS    OF    THE    TERRITORIAL    LEGISLATURE. 

The  first  Territorial  Legislature  met  at  Vincennes  July  29,  1805. 
Benjamin  Chambers,  of  Dearborn  County,  was  president  of  the  Legisla- 
tive Council,  and  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  of  the  same  county,  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 


228  HISTOItY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

The  Second  Territorial  Legislature  met  September  26,  1808.  Jesse 
B.  Thomas,  of  Dearborn  County,  was  again  speaker  of  the  House. 

The  Third  Territorial  Legislature  met  November  10,  1810. 

The  Fourth  Territorial  Legislature  met  February  1,  1813,  James 
Dill,  of  Dearborn  County,  was  speaker  of  the  House  at  the  first  session, 
and  Isaac  Dunn,  of  the  same  county,  was  speaker  during  the  last  seven 
days  of  the  second  session. 

The  fifth  and  last  Territorial  Legislature  of  Indiana  met  at  Corydon, 
August  14,  1814  Jesse  L.  Holman,  of  Dearborn,  was  elected  president 
of  the  Legislative  Council. 

MEMBERS    or    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTIONS. 

Convention  of  1816:  James  Dill,  Solomon  Manwarring  and  Ezra 
Ferris. 

Convention  of  1851:  William  S.  Holman,  John  D.  Johnson  and 
Johnson  Watts, 

MEMBERS    OF    THE    STATE    LEGISLATURE,    DEARBORN    COUNTY, 
SENATORS. 

1816-18.— Ezra  Ferris,  at  Corydon. 

1821-22,— John  Grey,  at  Corydon. 

1825-30. — John  Watts,  at  Indianapolis. 

1831-32,— James  T.  Pollock. 

1833.— D.  V.  CuUey, 

1834-35,— Daniel  Plummer. 

1838-43.— Johnson  Watts. 

1844-45.— George  P.  Buell. 

1849-51. — James  H.  Lane,  president  of  the  Senate, 

1846-51,— James  P.  Milliken. 

1852-57.— Richard  D.  Slater. 

1859-61.— Cornelius  O'Brien, 

1863-65.— James  W.  Gaff. 

1867-69.  -Elijah  Huffman. 

1871-73.— Richard  Gregg. 

1875.— Noah  S.  Givan. 

REPRESENTATIVES . 

1816. — Amos  Lane,  Erasmus  Powell. 

1817. — Amos  Lane. 

1818, — Erasmus  Powell,  John  Watts, 

1820, — Ezra  Ferris,  Erasmus  Powell. 

1822, — Pinkney  James,  Horace  Bassett,  Ezekiel  Jackson, 

1823. — Samuel  Jelley,  Benjamin  J.  Blythe,  David  Bowers. 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS.  229 

1825. — Abel  C.  Pepper,  Horace  Bassett,  Ezekiel  Jackson. 

1825. — Ezekiel  Jackson,  Abel  C.  Pepper,  Thomas  Guion. 

1826. — Ezra  Ferris,  Ezekiel  Jackson,  Horace  Bassett. 

1827. — Horace  Bassett,  Ezekiel  Jackson,  Joel  Decoursey,  James  T. 
Pollock. 

1828. — Horace  Bassett,  James  T.  Pollock,  Arthur  St.  Clair,  George 
H.  Dunn. 

1829-30.— Horace  Bassett,  James  T.  Pollock,  Thomas  Guion,  Walter 
Armstrong. 

1830. — James  T.  Pollock,  Walter  Armstrong,  Ezra  Ferris,  Samuel  H. 
Dowden. 

1831.— David  V.  Culley,  William  Flake,  Warren  Tebbs. 

1832.— George  H.  Dunn,  David  V.  Culley,  Oliver  Heustis. 

1833. — George  H.  Dunn,  Thomas  Guion,  David  Guard. 

1834. — Nelson  H.  Torbett,  James  Walker,  Thomas  Howard. 

1835. — Henry  W^alker,  Thomas  Howard,  Milton  Gregg. 

1836. — David  Guard,  Pinkney  James,  John  P.  Dunn,  Abel  C.  Pepper. 

1837.  — George  Arnold,  Abram  Ferris,  Enoch  W.  Jackson,  Alexander 
E.  Glenn. 

1838-39. — George  Arnold,  Jacob  W.  Eggleston,  William  Conaway, 
Ebenezer  Dumont. 

1839-40. — Amos  Lane,  William  Lanius,  William  Conaway,  William 
Perry. 

1840-41.— Abij ah  North,  John  B.  Clark,  Isaac  Dunn,  William  R.  Cole. 

1841. — Ethan  A.  Brown,  James  P.  Milliken,  James  Rand. 

1842-43. — Ethan  A.  Brown,  John  Lewis,  James  P.  Milliken. 

1843-44. — Pinkney  James,  David  Macy. 

1844. — Oliver  Huestis,  John  Lewis,  William  Lanius. 

1845-46. — George  Cornelius,  Richard  D.  Slater. 

1846-47.— A.  G.  Tebbs,  John  D.  Johnson. 

1847.— George  W.  Lane,  Richard  D.  Slater. 

1848. — John  D.  Johnson,  Alvin  J.  Alden,  George  M.  Lozier. 

1849-50. — Daniel  Conaway,  Joseph  A.  Watkins. 

1850. — Ebenezer  Dumont  (speaker  of  the  House),  John  B.  Clark, 

1850. — (Special  session)  Oliver  B.  Torbett,  William  S.  Holman. 

1853. — Oliver  B.  Torbett  (speaker  of  the  House),  Noah  C.  Durham, 

1855. — Alvin  J.  Alden,  John  Crozier. 

1857. — John  Lewis,  George  W.  Lane. 

1858.— Noah  C.  Durham,  Warren  Tebbs. 

1859.— Warren  Tebbs,  Noah  C.  Durham. 

1861. — Omer  F.  Roberts,  Charles  Lods. 

1863. — Omer  F,  Roberts,  Alfred  Brogan. 


230  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1865. — John  C.  Stenger,  Richard  Gregg. 
1867.— Edward  H.  Green,  Warren  Tebbs,  Jr. 
1869-71.  — Warren  Tebbs,  Jr. 
1872-73.— (Special)  Noah  S.  Givan. 
1875. — Columbus  Johnston. 

BOARD  OF  MAGISTRATES  AND  COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS  OF  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

From  1826  to  1831  the  business  of  the  county  was  controlled  by  a 
board  of  magistrates  from  the  several  townships,  one  of  whom  was 
elected  president.  The  old  records  having  been  burnt,  the  first  meeting 
of  which  any  record  exists  was  held  in  1826  with  James  Dill,  clerk.  The 
following  names  appear. 

1826. — Mark  McCracken,  president;  John  Porter,  James  Lewis,  Will- 
iam Brundye  and  Laban  Bramble. 

1827.— Mark  McCracken,  Cornelius  S.  Falkner  and  Job  A.  Beach. 

1828. — Philip  Eastman,  James  Murry,  Delia  Elder,  Isaac  Colwell, 
John    Godley,  James  W.  Hunter,  Martin    Stewart   and  William    Flake. 

1829. — David  Bowers,  John  Glass  and  Israel  W.  Bonham. 

1830. — Joseph  Wood,  Ulysses  Cook,  John  Columbia  and  John  Neal. 

The  law  was  changed  in  1831  and  the  county  was  divided  into  three 
districts,  and  one  man  was  elected  from  each  district  to  compose  a  board 
of  county  commissioners.  The  following  persons  have  been  elected  and 
served  on  this  board. 

1831. — District  No.  1,  Joseph  Wood,  elected  for  one  year;  District 
No.  2,  Mark  McCracken,  elected  for  twQ  years;  District  No.  3,  George 
Arnold,  elected  for  three  years — all  serving  from  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1831.  From  this  date  one  county  commissioner  was  elected 
annually  as  follows: 

1832.— William  Conway. 

1833.  -  Charles  Dashiell. 

1834— George  Arnold. 

1835.— John  Neal. 

1836. — Benjamin  Sylvester. 

1837. — David  Nevitt  and  William  Conway. 

1838.— David  Walser. 

1839.— Aaron  B.  Henry. 

1840.— William  S.  Ward. 

1841.— Charles  Dashiell. 

1842.— John  Columbia. 

1843.— William  S.  Ward. 

1844.— David  Walser. 

1845. — James  Grubbs. 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS.  231 

1846.  —Daniel  Taylor. 

1847.  —Martin  Trester. 
1848.— Jonathan  Hollowell. 
1849.— William  S.  Ward. 
1850.— Zera  Vinson. 
1851. — Jonathan  Hollowell. 
1852. — John  Heinberger. 
1853. — Benjamin  Biirlingame. 
1854.— Mason  J.  McCloud. 
1855.— Asahel  Tyrrel. 

1856. — Benjamin  Burlingame. 

1857. — John  Anderegg. 

1858.— Asahel  Tyrrel. 

1859.— Francis  Buffington. 

1860. — John  Anderegg. 

1861. — Charles  Briggs. 

1862.— Francis  Buffington. 

1863. — Charles  Briggs. 

1864.  — John  Anderegg. 

1865. — Francis  Buffington. 

1866. — Frederick  Sonders. 

1867.— Smith  Piatt. 

1868.— Asahel  Tyrrel. 

1869. — Frederick   Sonders. 

3870.— John  C.  Stenger. 

1871.— Asahel  Tyrrel. 

1872.— Frederick  Sonders. 

1873. — James  Grubbs,  Smith  Piatt. 

1874.— Frederick  Slater. 

1876.— Michael  Hoff,  Abraham  Briggs. 

] 877.— Frederick  Slater. 

1879.— Abraham  Briggs,  Michael  Hoff. 

1880.— Garrett  Bosse. 

1882. — Charles  Lods  (by  appointment  to  till  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  Hoff ),  Henry  Bulthaup  (by  appointment  to  fill  vacancy  caused 
by  the  death  of  Bosse),   T.  T.  Annis,  John  Buchert — Bulthaup  (elected). 

1883. — Charles  Fisk,  John  Feist  (by  appointment  to  fill  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  Buchert. 

1885. — Nicholas  Vogelgesang. 

TREASUKEES  OF  DEABORN  COUNTY. 

Daniel  Hagerman,  died  1829. 
Thomas  Palmer,  1829-31. 


232  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Walter  Armstrong,  1831-36. 
Robert  Moore,  1837-38. 
William  G.  Monroe,  1838-40. 
Ebenezer  Dumont,  1840-45. 
Nelson  S.  Torbet,  1845-47. 
Cornelius  O'Brien,  1847-50. 
Noble  Hamilton,  1850-53. 
Strange  S.  Dunn,  1853-55. 
Thomas  Johnson,  1855-57. 
Francis  M.  Jackson,  1857-61. 
Marcus  Levy,  1861-63. 
William  F.  Crocker,  1863-65. 
Thomas  Kilner,  1865-70. 
Francis  Lang,  1870-74. 
Charles  Lods,  1874-78. 
William  H.  Kyle,  1878-80. 
Dr.  James  D.  Gatch,  1882. 

CLEKKS  OF  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

Samuel  C.  Vance,  March  7,  1803,  to  September  6,  1813. 
James  Dill,   September  6,  1813  until  his  death,  in  1838,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Alexander  Dill,  appointed  clerk  pro  tern. 
William  V.  Cheek,  1839-51. 
Cornelius  O'Brien,  1851-56. 
Samuel  L.  Jones,  1856-61. 
John  F.  Cheek,  1864-68. 
John  A.  Conwell,  1868-78. 
Warren  Tebbs,  1878. 

RECORDERS  OF  DEARBORN  COUNTY. 

James  Dill,  March  7,  1803  to  August  30,  1803. 
James  Hamilton,  August  30,  1803  to  February  14,  1817. 
■   James  Dill,  1817-31. 
Thomas  Porter,  1831-34. 
Asa  Smith,  1834. 
Thomas  Palmer,  1835-55. 
Tobias  Finkbine,  1855. 
John  Heinberger,  1855-63. 
Alvin  J.  Alden,  1863-67. 
Alfred  Brogan,  1867-71. 
Francis  M.  Johnson,  1871-79. 
George  C.  Columbia,  1879-85. 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS.  233 

SHERIFFS    OF    DEARBORN    COUNTY. 

David  Lamphere,  August  23,  1803,  to  November  23,  1804. 

James  Hamilton,  November  23,  1804,  to  December  30,  1816. 

John  Hamilton,  February  14,  1817,  died  May,  1818. 

William  Hamilton,  May  29,  1818,  to  August  18,  1818. 

Thomas  Longley,  August  18,  1818  to  August  18,  1822. 

John  Spencer,  August,  1822,  to  August,  1826. 

Thomas  Longley,  August,  1826,  to  August,  1828. 

John  Spencer,  1828-32. 

Milton  Gregg,  1832. 

William  Dils,  1832-37. 

John  Weaver. 

Samuel  Osgood.  "^ 

Thomas  Roberts. 

Frank  M.  Riddle. 

John  Brumblay. 

John  Boyd,  1858-60. 

Edward  A.  Conger,  1860-64. 

Richard  C.  Arnold,  1864-68. 

Frank  R.  Dorman,  1868-72. 

Lewis  Weitzel,  1872-76. 

Elijah  Christopher,  1876-80. 

John  C.  Sims,  1880-84. 

Daniel  M.  Guard,  1884. 

AUDITORS    OF    DEARBORN    COUNTT. 

George  W.  Lane  (first  auditor),  1841-46. 
Reuben  Rogers,  1846-55. 
Elias  T.  Crosby,  1855-64. 
Richard  D.  Slater,  Sr.,  1864-68. 
Richard  D.  Slater,  Jr.,  1868-75. 
Myron  Haynes,  1875-79. 
Alexander  Pattison,  1879-83. 
Julius  Severin,  1883. 

UNITED     STATES    OFFICERS. 

The  following  named  citizens  of  Dearborn  County  have  held  offices 
under  and  by  authority  of  the  General  Government: 

Jesse  L.  Holman,  Judge  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the  District 
of  Indiana. 

Horace  Bassett,  clerk  of  the  District  Court,  Indiana. 

Abel  C.  Pepper,  United  States  marshal  for  State  of  Indiana. 

Thomas  Porter,  receiver  United  States  land  office,  Fort  Wayne. 


234  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Arthur  St.  Clair,  register  United  States  land  office,  Indianapolis. 
John  Spencer,  receiver  United  States  land  office.  Fort  Wayne. 
Abel  C.  Pepper,  Indian  agent. 

David  V.  Culley,  register  United  States  land  office,  Indianapolis. 
B.  T.  W.  S.  Anderson,  United  States  mail  agent. 

D.  M.  Skinner,  United  States  mail  agent. 

Servetus  Tufts,  assistant  door-keeper  United  States  Congress. 
Samuel  J.  Johnson,  assistant  door-keeper  United  States  Congress. 

E.  D.  Slater,  Sr.,  assistant  door-keeper  United  States  Congress. 
Geo.  W.Lane, superintendent  United  States  branch  mint,Denver,  Col. 
Benjamin  F.  Spooner,  United  States  marshal  for  the  State  of  Indiana, 
R.  DeLoss  Brown,  assistant  door-keeper  United  States  Congress. 
James  I.  McConnell,  assistant  door-keeper.   United   States  Congress. 
Jason  D.  Brown,  secretary  of  Wyoming  Territory. 

Henry  W.  Blasdal, "governor  of  Nevada  Territory. 

STATE  OFFICEES. 

Jesse  L.  Holman,  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 

George  H.  Dunn,  treasurer  of  State. 

John  P.  Dunn,  auditor  of  State. 

James  H.  Lane,  lieutenant-governor. 

B.   DeLoss  Brown,  librarian. 

E.  G.  Collins,  secretary  of  State. 

James  DeSano,-  librarian. 

Ebenezer  Dumont,  president  of  the  State  bank. 

CIECUIT    JUDGES  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

Miles  C.  Eggleston,  of  Jefferson  County,  1844. 

Courtland  Cushing,  of  Jefferson  County,  1845-50. 

Alexander  C.  Downey,  of  Ohio  County,  1850-58. 

Joseph  W.  Chapman,  1858-64. 

John  G.  Berkshire,  of  Ripley  County,  1864-69. 

Robert  N.  Lamb,  1869-70. 

Henry  C.  Hanna,  1870-73. 

Omar  F.  Roberts,  of  Dearborn  County,  1873-79. 

Noah  S.  Givan,  of  Dearborn  County,  1879-85. 

W.  H.  Bainbridge,  of  Dearborn  County,  1885. 

COMMON  PLEAS  JUDGES  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

Robert  Drummond,  1852-58. 

John  J.  Hayden,  of  Ohio  County,  1858-60. 

Francis  Adkinson,  1860-64. 

Robert  N.  Lamb,  1864-68. 

Scott  Carter,  1868-72. 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS.  235 


ASSOCIATE    JUDGES    OF     OHIO    COUNTY, 

Samuel  Fulton,  1844-47. 
Thomas  H.  Gilmore,  1844-47. 
John  Hall,  1847-51. 
Martin  Stewart,  1847-51. 

PROBATE  JUDGES  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

Samuel  Jelley,   1844-51. 
Thomas  W.  Pate,  1851-52. 

SHERIFFS    OF    OHIO    COUNTY. 

William  Lanius,  1844,  by  appointment. 

James  B.  Smith,  1844-46. 

William  W.  Pate,  1846-51. 

Thomas  H.  Gilmore,  1851-55. 

John  J.  Works,    1855-57. 

John  M.  Ginnings,  1857-59. 

Thomas  H.  Gilmore,  1859-61. 

Harvey  Green,  1861-65. 

Moses  T.  McMurray,  1865-67. 

B.  F.  Miller,  1867-69. 

William  H.  Clark,  1869-73. 

John  McGuire,  1873-75. 

Rufus  K.  Downey,  1875-77. 

David  H.  Durbin,  1877-79. 

John  Monroe,  1879-81. 

John  McGuire,  1881-85. 

Thomas  A.  Bennett,  1885. 

RECORDERS  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

William  T.  Lambdin,  1844-50. 
John  R.  Ross,  1850-51. 
Henry  B.  Newman,  1851-55. 
J.  J.  Hay  den,  1855. 
John  Downey,  1855. 
William  Elliott,  1855-63 . 
John  B.  Covington,  1863-71. 
Joseph  B.  Pepper,  1871-75. 
John  W.  Facemire,  1875-79. 
George  B.  Hall,  1879-80. 
Wallace  P.  Hall,  1880-82. 
Reuel  W.  Fugit,  1882. 


236  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

CLERKS    OF    OHIO    COUNTY. 

James  H.  Pepper,  1844. 
John  R.  Ross,  1850. 
John  B.  Covington,  1861. 
Oliver  H.  Miller,  1864. 
Solomon  K.  Kittle,  1872. 
John  H.  Jones  {ad  interim),  1876. 
William  W.  Williams,  1876. 
George  B.  Hall,  1880. 

AUDIT0E8  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

Samuel  F.  Covington,  1844-45. 
Joseph  M.  Vance,  1845. 
Lot  North,  1851. 
John  D.  Bush,  1855. 
Oliver  H.  Miller,  1859. 
Solomon  K.  Kittle,  1863. 
Oliver  H.  Miller,  1871. 
Joseph  P.  Hemphill,  1879. 

TREASURERS    OF    OHIO    COUNTY. 

John  B.  Craft,  1844. 
James  B.  Smith,  1855. 
Robert  W.  Jones,  1859. 
Hugh  S.  Espey,  1865. 
John  T.  Whitlock,  1867. 
AVilliam  H.  Clark,  1875. 
John  C.  Miller,  1878. 
John  W.  Facemire,  1883. 
Michael  McGuire,  1885. 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS  OF  OHIO  COUNTY. 

1844. — John  Bennett,  William  H.  Powell  and  Morris  Merrill. 

1845. — John  Bennett,  for  three  years;  George  Pate,  for  two  years, 
and  James  Hemphill,  for  one  year. 

1846.  — James  M.  Shepherd. 

1847.— George  Pate,  re-elected  for  three  years,  and  Cornelius  Miller 
succeeded  John  Bennett,  deceased. 

1848. — Thomas  Summers. 

1849.— Allen  B.  Wilber,  Marshall  Elliott. 

1851.     George  Pate  (died  in  1852)  and  John  Hall,  appointed  to  the 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS.  237 

1852. — Charles  E.  Hamilton,  James  W.  Gibbens. 

1853.— Benjamin  Hall. 

1854. — George  Buchanan. 

1855. — James  Johnson,  Nathan  Vanosdol,  Joseph  L.  Pate. 

1857.— Calvin  Marble. 

1858. — Hiram  Barricklow. 

1859. — Hugh  Anderson. 

I860.— Henry  Brown. 

1861.— William  Wooden. 

1862.— Hugh  Anderson. 

1863.— Henry  Brown. 

1864.— Ezra  Kemp. 

1865.— Scott  Billings. 

1866.— William  Hemphill. 

1867.  — Ezra  Lampkin. 

1868. — James  Buchanan,  by  appointment,  to  succeed  Ezra  Lampkin, 
removed  from  the  county;  then  elected.     Scott  Billings. 

1869.— William  Hemphill. 

1870. — James  Buchanan. 

1871.— Scott  Billings. 

1872.— William  Hemphill. 

1873. — James  Buchanan. 

1874.— Scott  Billings. 

1875. ^William  Hemphill. 

1876.— John  Hanna,   John  W.  Cofield. 

1877.— Scott  Billings. 

1878. — Christian  Marlman. 

1879. — James  North,  Henry  F.  Potterbaum.. 

1881. — James  Buchanan,  by  appointment  to  succeed  Henry  F.  Potter- 
baum, removed  from  the  county.     Christian  Marlman. 

1882.— F.  M.  Miller,  J.  F.  Schroeder. 

1884. — Christian  Marlman. 

MEMBERS     OF    THE     GENERAL  ASSEMBLE    FROM    OHIO    AND    SWITZERLAND  COUNTIES. 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  of  men  who  have  been  honored 
with  a  seat  in  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  from  the  senatorial  and 
legislative  districts  of  which  Ohio  County  has  constituted  a  part  since 
the  organization  of  the  county  until  1869  and  1875,  respectively; 

Senate. — Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties  were  made  a  senatorial  dis- 
trict in  1845.  Since  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution,  the  sessions 
of  the  Legislature  have  been  held  biennially,  the  senators  being  elected 
for  four  years. 


238  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1846-47-48,  Martin  R.  Green;  1849-50-51,  John  Woods;  1852-53. 
William  Powell;  in  the  sessions  commencing  1855  and  1857,  Philander 
S.  Page;  in  the  sessions  commencing  1859  and  1861,  Benjamin  L.  Rob- 
inson; in  the  sessions  commencing  in  1863  and  1865,  Alexander  C- 
Downey;  in  the  sessions  commencing  in  1867  and  1879,  Flavins  J.  Bell- 
aney. 

House. — Since  1845  Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties  have  composed  a 
representative  district.  1846,  John  Tait,  Jr.;  1847,  Samuel  F.  Cov- 
ington and  Charles  T.  Jones;  1848,  Daniel  Kelso;  1849,  John  W.Wright 
and  John  W.  Spencer;  1850,  Thomas  Armstrong;  1851,  Samuel  Porter 
and  John  W.  Spencer  (after  this  session  the  Legislature  met  biennially, 
and  convened  in  January  instead  of  December,  as  under  the  old  consti- 
tution); 1853,  Oliver  Dufour,  Hazlett  E.  Dodd;  in  1855,  George  W. 
Harryman  and  David  Cain;  1857,  John  W.  and  John  J.  Hayden;  1858- 
59,  William  H.  Gregory  (session  of  1858  a  special  one);  1861,  Hugh  T. 
Williams;  1863,  Robert  N.  Lamb;  1865,  Augustus  Welch;  1867,  James 
North;  1869,  Stephen  H.  Stewart;  1871,  William  G,  Holland;  1873; 
Benjamin  North;  1875,  William  T.  Pate. 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  241 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH. 

Location  and  Origin— The  Early  Village  and  Its  Progress— The 
Warren  Murder— The  Decade  Betaveen  1830  and  1840— Observ- 
ance of  Independence  Day,  1831— Laavrenceburgh  a  City— Growth 
AND  Progress— Odd  Fellows  Building  and  City  Hall— The  City 
1858-59— The  Banking  Business— The  Fire  of  July  4, 1866— Ecclesi- 
astical History— Schools— Leading  Manufacturing  Interests- 
Gas  Works— Fire  Department— Societies— Old  Land  Marks  and 
Relics— The  Centennial  Fourth. 

LAWRENCEBURGH  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio 
River,  occupying  a  position  on  a  broad  expanse  of  most  fertile 
bottom  lauds,  back  of  which  there  arises  a  ridge  and  range  of  hills,  tow- 
ering, perhaps,  100  feet  above  the  valley,  from  which  is  presented  a  pic- 
ture most  grand  to  behold— the  broad  and  extended  bottoms  coursed  by 
the  Great  Miami,  the  city  with  its  many  and  graceful  church  spires 
pointing  heavenward,  its  huge  and  tall  chimneys  from  the  numerous  fac- 
tories, the  majestic  Ohio  flowing  beneath  the  chivalrous  Kentucky  hills. 
The  city  is  located  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county,  and  is  distant 
by  rail  eighty-six  miles  southeast  of  Indianapolis,  and  twenty-one  miles 
a  little  west  of  south  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  by  river  twenty-two 
miles,  lying  in  latitude  39°  5'  north,  and  longitude  7°  35'  west. 

The  city  was  laid  out  in  April,  1802,  the  plat  being  recorded  on  the 
8th  by  Samuel  C.  Vance,  who  was  the  original  proprietor  of  the  land  on 
which  the  original  plat  was  made — fractional  Section  14,  Township  5, 
Range  1  west— which  Mr.  Vance  entered  July  23,  1801.  In  addition  to 
this  tract  of  land  Mr.  Vance  entered  a  number  of  others  and,  it  is  said, 
could  not  pay  for  them,  and  the  tract  on  which  the  city  was  laid  out  was 
re-entered,  December  3,  by  Col.  Benjamin  Chambers,  who  was  the  pat- 
entee. The  surveying  vs^as  performed  by  Benjamin  Chambers  and  James 
Hamilton.  The  original  plat  we  failed  to  find,  but  in  the  records  of  this 
county  over  the  date  of  May  29,  1812,  at  which  time  Mr.  Vance  as  pro- 
prietor acknowledged  the  plan  of  Lawrenceburgh  as  enlarged  and  altered 
from  the  original  plan  on  record  in  Hamilton  County,  Ohio  (the  place 
being  laid  out  when  its  site  was  a  part  of  that  county  and  State).  The 
plat  comprised  196  in-lots,  bounded  about  as  follows:     On  the  north  by 


242  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Elm  Street,  on  the  south  by  Mulberry  Row,  on  the  east  by  Front  Street, 
which  bordered  on  a  common  lying  between  it  and  the  river,  and  on  the 
west  by  Partition  Lane.  In  addition  to  the  above  number  of  lots  there 
were  fifty-five  out-lots.  The  public  square,  on  which  is  now  situated  the 
court  house  and  jail  was  bounded  by  High,  Catharine,  Charlotte  and 
Mary  Streets.  As  compared  with  the  original  plat  it  was  stated  that  the 
front  tier  of  lots  was  brought  one  pole  nigher  to  the  river;  the  lots  on 
Front  and  Second  Streets  were  reduced  in  size,  and  New  Street  estab- 
lished between  the  front  and  second  tier  of  lots;  five  lots  that  were  orig- 
inally appropriated  to  the  future  enlargement  of  the  town  were  in  the 
meantime  laid  out  and  disposed  of  as  out-lots,  the  town  having  been 
enlarged  to  a  much  greater  extent  on  more  suitable  ground. 

Early  additions  to  the  town  were  made  as  follows:  In  1814  by  Sam- 
uel Ludlow,  six  lots  out  of  his  meadow  lot  fronting  on  Elm  Street,  and 
on  the  east  of  that  street;  by  John  Elliott,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1831,  five 
lots  between  New  Street  and  River,  and  Elm  and  Short  Streets;  and 
thirty-six  lots,  half  on  either  side  of  Short  Street  and  adjoining  Parti- 
tion Lane,  in  1839,  by  William  T.  Cbafi'ee. 

The  town  was  named  by  Capt.  Vance  in  honor  of  his  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Lawrence. 

Samuel  Morrison  is  the  authority  for  saying  that  in  the  autumn  of 
1802,  Dr.  Jabez  Percival-  erected  the  first  house  on  the  site  of  the  town 
and  occupied  it;  it  was  a  double  log-cabin. 

"  Mr.  Vance  was  a  United  States  government  surveyor,  residing  at 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  having  ascertained  the  good  quality  of  the  soil,  and 
the  most  eligible  location,  on  account  of  the  high  ground  upon  these  bot- 
tom lands,  naturally  took  advantage  of  his  discovery,  and  bought  all  the 
land  on  which  the  original  town  is  situated;  and  also  the  balance  of  the 
bottom  up  the  river  to  a  point  where  a  line  from  the  river  north  and 
south  struck  the  old  channel  of  the  Big  Miami  River,  and  afterward  upon 
the  highest  point  of  ground  erected  his  residence,  known  to  most  of  our 
residents  as  the  Omer  Tousey  property,  in  1818,  now  owned  by  Col.  Willis. 
The  whole  river  front  of  the  original  town  is  a  public  common,  with  the 
reservation  on  the  part  of  the  layer  out  of  the  town  and  his  successors, 
heirs  and  assigns  of  maintaining  the  right  to  the  land  at  the  ferry,  and  a 
ferry  and  warehouse.  The  balance  belongs  to  the  town,  although  many 
persons  have  encroached  upon  it.  It  was  trespass,  though  done  through 
ignorance  of  the  fight  of  the  town  to  the  common.  In  the  year  1809, 
or  thereabouts  (the  records  having  been  destroyed  by  fire,  we  are  unable 
to  give  the  exact  date),  Pinkney  James  laid  out  what  is  now  called  New- 
town, by  the  name  of  Edenborough;  not  prospering  in  the  selling  of  lots, 
he  followed   his  father,  who   laid  out  that  town,  to  Rising  Sun,  in  this 


CITY  OF  LAWKENCEBURGH.  243 

State,  and  in  the  year  1811,  sold  out  the  town  of  Edenborough.to  Stephen 
Ludlow,  George  Weaver.  John  Weaver  and  Thomas  Porter, including  the  old 
pond  and  embracing  the  property  upon  -which  George  Huschart's  marble 
works  are  now  situated  ;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  raeanderino-  of 
Tanner's  Creek,  to  a  point  where  the  north  line  of  the  old  graveyard  in 
Newtown  struck  it,  and  thence  east  to  where  the  old  fence  north  and 
south  used  to  divide  the  new  addition  from  the  city  dirt  lot.  Isaac  Dunn 
being  elected  to  the  Legislature,  sitting  at  Corydon,  then  the  capital  of 
the  State,  got  the  town  of  Edenborough  vacated,  but  some  years  after- 
ward, an  opportunity  offering  for  the  sale  of  building  lots,  in  connection 
with  Stephen  Ludlow,  who  already  owned  a  number  of  the  lots  of  the  old 
town,  had  the  old  map,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  southern  tier  of  lots, 
re-recorded  and  reinstated  as  a  town  under  the  statute,  and  it  then  was 
incorporated  with  the  old  town  of  Lawrenceburgh  as  a  part  of  the  town." 
— Centennial  History. 

Over  the  date  of  April  6,  1819,  Isaac  Dunn,  a  proprietor  of  New  Law- 
renceburgh, acknowledged  a  plat  entered  and  laid  off  by  him  from  the 
town  formely  called  Edenborough,  to  be  an  addition  to  Lawrenceburgh  f 
this  consisted  of  125  lots.  Next  to  Tanner's  Creek,  ground  was  desig- 
nated as  a  graveyard,  and  running  parallel  with  that  stream  were  desig- 
nated Shipping,  Main,  Front  and  Water  Streets,  which  were  intersected 
by  First,  High,  Third  and  Fourth  Streets. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  in  the  year  1846,  Old  and  Newtown  were 
incorporated  as  a  city.  Since  that  date  the  town  of  Rossville  has  been 
annexed  to  the  city^  besides  Eichelberger  and  Lewis  added  a  large 
addition,  by  the  subdivision  of  high  adjoining  grounds  into  building  lots 
which  have  been  sold,  and  are  already  greatly  improved  by  fine  residences 
shops  and  manufactories.  As  a  suburb,  we  have  the  beautiful  town  of 
Greendale,  with  her  large  manufactories,  many  cozy  cottages  and  palatial 
residences. 

"In  former  days,  rival  towns  attempted  to  give  our  city  bad  repute  on 
account  of  an  occasional  overflow  from  the  Ohio  River,  but  owing  to  the 
energy  of  the  citizens,  and  the  liberal  expenditure  of  over $400,000  pub- 
lic and  private,  and  at  least  $200,000  by  the  respective  railroads  passing 
through  our  city,  we  have  succeeded  in  making  fills  and  embankments  to 
that  extent,  that  places  us  above  the  reach  of  high  water.  Time  with 
its  destroying  power  has  made  sad  havoc  with  the  early  landmarks  of  our 
city's  existence;  the  little  log-cabins  and  houses  have  long  since  dis- 
appeared and  been  forgotten.  Death,  the  insatiable  reaper,  has  been 
busily  at  work  during  those  days,  and  one  by  one  has  gathered  home  the 
old  pioneers,  until  at  the  time  we  write,  there  remains  not  one  who  viewed 
the  dawn  of  its  existence.     Those  men  of   iron   will  and  courage  have 


244  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

passed  away,  and  the  toils,  suffering  and  dangers  they  encountered  in 
beating  back  the  savage  occupants,  and  reclaiming  this  magnificent 
country  from  an  unbroken  wilderness,  can  never  be  realized  by  the  gen- 
erations that  shall  succeed  them.  At  the  present  time  Mr.  Norval  Sparks 
is  the  oldest  resident  in  our  city,  having  settled  here  with  his  father's 
family  in  the  year  1806,  and  to  him  are  we  indebted  for  many  of  the 
names,  dates  and  incidents  of  those  early  times." — Centennial  History. 

THE  EARLY  VILLAGE  AND  ITS  PROGRESS. 

"  In  the  year  1806,  the    principal    buildings    were  the  ferry  house 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  above  Walnut  Street   and  the  warehouse  below 
Walnut  Street,      The  residences  were  those  of  Benjamin  Chambers  and 
Gen.   James    Dill    on    the    bank    of    the    river;  James  Hamilton  and 
Michael   Jones   lived  on  what   is  known  to-day  as  Vail's  Alley;  what  is 
now  known  as  New  Street,  was  then  called  Second  Street,  and  on  it  lived 
Dr.  Jabez  Percival,  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Capt.  Samuel  C.  Vance  and  Elijah 
Sparks.     On    High   Street,  below   the   railroad,    lived   Rev.   Baldridge. 
William  Cook  was  jailer,  and  lived  in  the   old  log-jail;   James    Foster, 
on  the  corner  of  Vine  and  High  Streets,  and    carried  on   the  business  of 
making  chairs.     Owing  to  the  disadvantages   James   labored  under,  he 
was  not  prepared  to  manufacture  cushioned    spring   bottoms.      William 
Morgan  lived  on  the  corner  of  High  and  Walnut  Streets;  on  the  opposite 
corner,  known  now  as  Burk's  Corner,  John  Horner  carried  on  a  blacksmith 
shop.      Mr.    John  Gray   kept  store  on  the  corner  of    Short   and  High 
Streets.     Jacob  Horner  kept  tavern  in  a  log-house,  where  the   Anderson 
House  is,  and  Judge  Isaac  Dunn  lived  on  the  corner  of  New  and  High 
Streets.     Those  embraced  principally  all  the   houses  that  were  at  that 
time;  the  most  of  them  were  log.     It  is  evident  that  the  first  house  erected 
on  the  site  of  Lawrenceburgh,  was  built  by  Dr.  Jabez  Percival,  who  had 
imoiigrated  here  some  years  before.      For  a  number  of   years  there  was 
little  growth  to  the  city;  here  and  there    were    erected    the    small    log- 
cabins  by  the  new  comers,  and  one  peculiarily  of  the  log-cabins  of  those 
days  was,  the  majority  of  the  logs  used  in  their  erection  were  of  Buck- 
eye; it  grew  very  plentifully,  and  was  no  doubt  selected  by   the  sturdy 
old  fellows  on  account  of  it  being  soft  wood  and  easy  to  cut.      The  little 
log- cabins  would  present  quite  a  picturesque  appearance  during  the  first 
year  of  their  erection,  young  shoots  would  put  forth  from  every  log,  and 
give  them  the  appearance  of  a  large  mass  of  green  bushes. 

"  The  courts  at  that  date  were  held  in  the  house  of  William  Morgan, 
on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  High  Streets;  Judge  Benjamin  Park  was  the 
district  judge,  and  resided  at  Vincennes.  Benjamin  Chambei's  was 
associate  judge;  Samuel  C.  Vance  was  clerk;  David   Lamphere,  sheriff, 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  245 

and  William  Cook,  jailer.  The  attorneys  were  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Michael 
Jones,  Elijah  Sparks,  and  James  Noble.  The  business  was  dispatched 
promptly  without  the  aid  of  professional  jurors,  and  there  were  no 
changes  of  venue  granted.  Upon  the  public  square  was  erected  the  first 
log-schoolhouse,  which  was  also  used  as  a  meeting-house;  the  first  teachers 
were  the  Rev.  Baldridge  and  a  Mr.  Fulton  (house  was  removed  in  1831). 
Mr.  Elijah  Sparks  preached  for  the  Methodists;  Rev.  Baldridge,  for  the 
Presbyterians,  and  Mr.  John  Watts  who  lived  across  the  river  in  Ken- 
tucky, for  the  Baptists.  In  the  year  1810  the  old  brick  court  house, 
(burned  in  1826),  was  built." — Centennial  History. 

In  1818,  the  principal  citizens  of  the  village  were  Samuel  C.  Vance, 
Benjamin  Chambers,  James  Dill,  Stephen  Ludlow,  Isaac  Dunn,  Benja- 
min Piatt,  Dr.  Jabez  Percival;  Jacob  Horner,  proprietor  of  hotel;  John 
Horner,  blacksmith;  Walter  Armstrong,  inn-keeper;  Samuel  Fauncher, 
constable;Timothy  Davis;  James  McLeaster,  shoe-maker;  Charles  Lee  Brai- 
ser,  hatter;  William  Cook,  jailor;  old  Mr.  Kimball,  wheelwright;  John 
Cox;  William  Cumberlain,  proprietor  of  horse-mill;  Dr.  Ezra  Ferris;  Cham- 
bers Foster;  Zenas  Hill,  school  teacher;  Mr.  Shaw;  Mr.  Thornbury; 
James  Hamilton;  William  Caldwell,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  David  Ger- 
ard. At  this  period  there  were  but  two  brick  houses,  one  stone,  besides 
the  court  house,  and  five  frame  houses,  those  of  Vance,  Chambers,  Dill, 
Ludlow  and  Dunn:  all  the  others  were  log-houses.  Of  the  young  men 
Andrew  Morgan,  Walter  Hayes,  Davis  and  John  Weaver,  and  Samuel  H. 
Dowden  are  all  that  can  be  recollected  after  a  lapse  of  seventy-two  years. 

In  Daniel  Drake's  picture  of  Cincinnati  and  Miami  Country,  published 
in  1815,  it  is  stated  that  "Lawrenceburgh  having  occasionally  suffered 
inundation,  has  grown  but  little,  and  a  new  village  called  Edinborough 
has  been  lately  laid  out  on  higher  ground,  about  one-half  mile  from  the 
river,  but  this  is  not  a  place  of  much  promise.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
counties  of  Dearborn,  Franklin  and  Wayne,  received  their  supplies  of 
foreign  goods  almost  exclusively  from  Cincinnati,  but  little,  mercantile 
capital  being  employed  at  Lawrenceburgh,  and  there  being  on  the  Great 
Miami  no  depot  of  merchandise  for  that  region."  Two  years  later  the 
author  of  an  emigrants'  directory  says,  "In  traveling  seven  miles  through 
the  woods  of  Dearborn  County,  I  counted  two  bears,  three  deer,  and  up- 
ward of  100  turkeys.  In  the  course  of  the  day  I  missed  my  way  and 
wandered  several  miles  in  the  wilderness." 

"From  the  year  1812  to  1820,  the  town  grew  rapidly,  and  became  the 
business  point  for  all  the  surrounding  country,  which  had  been  rapidly 
taken  up  and  settled  upon  by  immigrants  from  the  older  States.  Many 
substantial  buildings  were  erected  during  this  period.  The  principal 
business  men  of  this  date  were  David    P.  Shook  &  Co.,  Samuel  Vance, 


246  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

John  Gray,  John  H.  &  Benjamin  M.  Piatt,  David  Guard,  Isaac  Dunn, 
John  Eads  &  Co.,  William  Pyne  (tailor),  Stephen  Ludlow,'  John  Gibson, 
Israel  J.  Canby,  A.  Morgan,  Frederick  Lucas,  James  W.  Weaver,  David 
Rees,  William  Ewing,  Joseph  H.  Coburn,  Jacob  Brasher,  C.  Fitch,  E. 
Hollister,  James  Hallowell,  Harris  Fitch,  Jesse  Hunt,  W.  Tate,  Benja- 
min Stockman,  W.  Armstrong,  Thomas  Shaw,  John  Bates,  Noah  Noble 
&  Co.,  Mary  Brooks  (milliner),  Jared  Evans,  J.  P.,  and  David  Bruner 
was  the  barber.  Dennis  Duskey  ran  a  trading  boat  from  here  to 
Cincinnati,  leaving  every  Monday  morning,  wind  and  weather  permitting. 
Every  attention  was  given  to  goods  committed  to  his  care,  and  every  ac- 
commodation possible  afforded  to  passengers.  There  was  no  bar  on  this 
boat,  and  smoking  was  positively  forbidden,  and  the  first  person  caught 
playing  cards  was  at  once  set  ashore.  The  captain  reserving  the  right 
to  indulge  in  profanity  whenever  the  occasion  required  it.  In  1817 
the  first  paper  was  published  by  B.  Brown,  called  the  Dearborn  Gazette: 
the  office  was  located  in  a  building  on  what  is  now  known  as  Vail's  Alley 
the  motto  of  the  paper  was  "Equal  and  exact  justice."  During  his  ed- 
itorial career  the  following  incident  occurred:  Mr.  John  Jackson  was 
the  mail  carrier.  His  rout  was  from  Cincinnati  to  Madison.  He  lived 
at  Georgetown,  and  made  Lawrenceburgh  a  way-station,  and  would  bring 
the  mail  matter  down  tied  up  in  his  handkerchief.  Brown  took  him  to 
task  for  his  seeming  carelessness,  which  irritated  the  courageous  carrier, 
who  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  physical  strength,  and  as  brave  as  he 
was  powerful,  and  he  determined  to  chastise  the  impertinent  editor. 
Brown  was  a  small  man,  but  lacked  no  courage;  when  Jackson  entered 
the  office  to  chastise  him  for  his  impertinence,  he  was  busily  engaged, 
inking  balls  in  hand,  printing  his  paper,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  come  in 
striking  distance  of  him.  Brown  struck  him  in  the  eye  with  the  ink  balls, 
and  succeeding  in  making  a  good  impression.  Jackson  was  so  aston- 
ished at  the  mode  of  defense,  and  the  weapons  used  by  the  Yankee 
printer,  blinded  and  blackened,  he  retired  from  the  contest,  proclaiming 
he  could  whip  his  weight  in  "wild  cats,"  but  always  preferred  to  pass 
by  the  small  odoriferous  animal  whose  defense  was  more  effectual  than  a 
Chinese  stink  pot. 

"  Early  in  the  spring  of  1813,  a  horse  thief  was  captured  near  Tan- 
ner's Creek,  who  had  in  his  possession  a  very  fine  horse,  which  he  had 
stolen  from  some  honest  pioneer.  He  died  very  suddenly  with  his  boots 
on.  A  few  nights  after  his  death  it  is  reported  that  Dr.  Jabez  Percival, 
the  leading  physician  of  the  town,  and  Ezra  Pugh,  held  a  most  thorough 
post  mortem  examination  xipon  the  body,  and  unfortunately  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  medical  society  of  the  county  of  to-day,  the  old  rough  and 
ready  doctor  and  his  able  assistant,  neglected  to  transmit  the  result  of 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  247 

that  examination.  But  the  records  prove  that  it  did  not  cost  the  tax- 
payers anything,  as  there  was  no  charge  made  for  coroner  or  juror's 
fees.  At  this  time,  The  Farmers  and  Mechanics  Bank  was  in  existence. 
Isaac  Dunn  was  president,  and  Thomas  Porter  was  cashier.  The  list  of 
physicians  were  Dr.  Jabez  Percival,  Ezra  Ferris,  -John  S.  Percival,  Mar- 
maduke  E.  Ferris,  Dr.  Finch,  Dr.  Brower  and  Dr.  Easton.  The  attor- 
neys that  practiced  in  the  courts,  were  James  Dill,  Jesse  B.  Thomas, 
Elijah  Sparks,  Thomas  Wardell,  John  Lawrence,  Amos  Lane,  James 
Noble,  Jesse  L.  Holman,  Stephen  C.  Stephens,  William  Hendricks,  Daniel 
J.  Caswell,  Moses  Hitchcock,  Isaac  S.  Brower  and  George  H.  Dunn. 

"Business  was  brisk,  and  the  following  was  the  price  list  as  reported 
to  us  by  the  chief  clerk  of  the  firm  of  Dunn  &  Ludlow:  India  muslin, 
75  cents  per  yard;  calico,  62|  cents  per  yard;  coffee,  75  cents  per  pound; 
tea,  $2.50  per  pound;  sugar,  50  cents  per  pound;  indigo,  $4  per  pound; 
madder,  50  cents;  copperas,  25  cents;  salt,  $4.50  per  barrel;  iron,  12| 
cents  per  pound;  castings,  10  cents;  flour,  $5  per  hundred;  corn,  15 
cents  per  bushel;  potatoes,  15  cents;  pork,  $1.50  per  hundred;  beef, 
$1.50  per  hundred;  eggs,  6^  cents  per  dozen;  butter,  12|  cents  per 
pound.  In  those  days  when  a  young  sprig  put  on  one  of  those  muslin 
shirts,  he  felt  as  exalted  as  the  wearer  of  a  ruffled  shirt  of  to-day  does 
at  a  'Centennial  tea  party,'  and  the  fair  Miss  robed  in  one  of  those  62|- 
cent  calicoes  made  from  five  or  six  yards,  as  grand  as  the  young  Miss  of 
to-day  does  when  she  appears  before  the  mirror  to  behold  herself  cos- 
tumed for  a  'Martha  Washington  reception.'  In  1816  George  Weaver 
erected  and  operated  a  saw-mill  in  Newtown.  The  motive  power  was 
supplied  by  two  sturdy  oxen;  the  number  of  feet  sawed  per  day  we  are 
unable  to  give,  as  there  was  no  city  measurer  at  that  time.  In  1820 
Jesse  Hunt  erected  the  hotel  on  the  corner  of  High  and  Walnut  Streets, 
known  as  the  Anderson  House,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  three- 
story  brick  house  erected  in  the  State.  Benjamin  Stockman  did  the 
brick  work. 

"The  Lawrenceburgh  Sunday-school  Society  was  organized  December 
24,  1819,  with  Dr.  Jabez  Percival,  president;  George  H.  Dunn,  secretary; 
David  P.  Shook,  treasurer;  Dr.  Ezra  Ferris  and  Dr.  Abram  Brower, 
superintendents.  The  directors  of  the  Lawrenceburgh  Library  Company, 
for  the  year  1820,  were  John  Porter,  John  ^Veaver,  Joseph  H.  Coburn, 
Isaac  S.  Brower,  Jabez  Percival,  James  Dill  and  George  H.  Dunn.  At 
the  annual  election,  January  3,  1820,  to  elect  directors  of  the  Farmers' 
and  Mechanics'  Bank  for  the  ensuing  year,  the  following  persons  were 
elected:  Isaac  Dunn,  Ezra  Ferris,  Isaac  Morgan,  Walter  Armstrong, 
John^  Weaver,  David  Guard,  Lazarus  Noble,  Stephen  Ludlow,  Levi 
Miller,  Moses  Schott,  George  Weaver,  Samuel  Bond  and  Amos  Lane. 


248  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

"  January  10,  1820,  the  first  murder  in  the  city  occurred,  by  Amasa 
Fuller  killing  Palmer  Warren.  January  6,  1820,  the  ladies  of  the  city 
met  at  the  house  of  David  Guard,  and  organized  a  female  Sunday- 
school.  Mrs.  Frances  Dunn  was  president,  and  Polly  Lane,  secretary. 
Miss  Elizabeth  Brower,  Miss  Mary  Brooks  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Percival 
were  the  committee  on  constitution  and  rules.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Percival, 
Frances  Dunn,  Polly  Lane,  Rebecca  Wright,  Elizabeth  Rice,  Elizabeth 
Brower,  Anna  Eads  and  Huldah  Gardner  were  appointed  superintend- 
ents. Mrs.  Mercy  Porter,  Misses  Mary  Brooks,  Elizabeth  Brower,  Mary 
Ann  Brower,  Lucretia  Earl  and  Electa  Wright  volunteered  as  teachers. 
Mrs,  Bulah  Guard  was  elected  treasurer,  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Brower, 
secretary. 

"  As  an  indication  of  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  those  days,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  city  fathers  had  the  courage  to  assume  an  indebtedness  of 
$3,500  for  the  purpose  of  digging  wells  and  filling  up  High  Street.  The 
city  grew  quite  rapidly,  and  became  the  business  town  of  the  State,  and 
the  market  point  for  all  the  adjoining  counties  extending  as  far  west  as 
Indianapolis.  The  produce  was  all  brought  here  in  wagons,  and  this 
was  the  shipping  point  for  the  southern  markets.  Great  numbers  of 
trading  and  flat-boats  were  annually  sent  down  the  river,  and  a  large 
number  of  the  citizens  were  engaged  in  that  hazardous  trade,  and  it  is 
claimed  that  there  was  more  business  done  here  in  those  days  than  at 
the  present  time.  And  there  were  many  noted  characters  here  in  the  ze- 
nith of  their  glory,  many  whose  names  have  come  down  to  us, brilliant  with 
the  memory  of  their  many  good  deeds  and  acts,  and  whose  reputation  was 
co-extensive  with  their  young  and  rising  State,  and  who  did  much  in  laying 
the  solid  foundations  upon  which  we  have  builded,while  there  were  some, 
as  in  this  day,  noted  for  their  dark  and  infamous  deeds;  of  the  latter  class 
we  will  mention  one  Daniel  Brown,  and  there  are  quite  a  number  of  our  old 
citizens  living  to-day  who  remember  him  well.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
one  of  the  most  powerful  men  of  that  time,  nearly  six  feet  in  height, 
straight  as  an  arrow,  and  very  active,  at  all  times  appearing  in  a  smiling 
mood,  subtle  and  courageous  as  a  lion.  He  was  an  active  business  man 
and  county  commissioner.  He  kept  a  store  on  High  Street,  in  the  build- 
ing where  Mr.  Moore's  book- store  is  at  the  present  time,  and  in  addition 
traded  on  the  river.  He  was  a  noted  counterfeiter  and  gambler,  and  in 
one  of  his  trips  south  he  got  into  difficulty  with  gamblers  at  a  noted 
place  known  in  those  days  to  all  river  travelers  as  "Natchez  Under  the 
Hill,"  and  killed  one  of  them.  He  succeeded  in  making  his  escape,  and 
proceeded  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  at  once  entered  largely  upon 
counterfeiting,  and  was  very  successful,  and  it  was  some  time  before  he 
was  detected.     He  was  placed  in  jail,  with  others  of  the  gang,  and  some 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  249 

reports  say  he  died,  while  others  claim  he  succeeded  in  making  his  es- 
cape; be  that  as  it  may,  the  citizens  of  this  city  never  heard  of  him  after 
that  time. 

"March  13,  1826,  the  court  house  was  burned,  and  all  the  records  de- 
stroyed— it  was  dui'ing  the  freshet  of  that  year,  the  water  was  up  around 
the  building  at  the  time,  and  it  was  so  cold  that  the  next  morning  after 
the  fire  it  had  frozen  ice  all  around  it.  There  is  no  doubt  but  it  was  the 
work  of  an  incendiary.  The  citizens  of  our  city  at  that  date  were  largely 
imbued  with  the  patriotic  spirit  that  was  transmitted  by  their  Revolution- 
ary sires,  and  the  commemoration  of  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  never  permitted  to  pass  by  without  a  grand  celebration 
and  jubilee,  a  day  of  rejoicing  and  good  feeling.  And  to  give  our  citi- 
zens (whom  we  regret  to  say  are  fast  forgetting  the  memories  that  clus- 
tered around  that  day),  an  idea  of  how  they  celebrated,  we  give  the 
program  of  July  4,  1825:  Maj.  Langley,  marshal;  Maj.  Spencer, 
assistant  marshal;  the  procession  proceeded  to  the  Methodist  Church. 
Beading  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  by  Capt.  Samuel  C.  Vance; 
address  by  George  H.  Dunn,  Esq.,  after  which  the  procession  was  formed 
and  proceeded  to  the  hotel  of  John  Gray  for  dinner.  After  the  ladies 
had  retired,  the  patriotic  old  gentlemen  proceeded  to  drink  twenty- four 
toasts,  and  acquitted  themselves  heroically,  as  they  did  every  task 
imposed,  and  with  unfaltering  courage  never  shrank  from  any  undertak- 
ing, and  the  record  of  that  day  no  doubt  did  no  discredit  to  their  valor, 
and  with  patriotism  swelling  every  bosom,  they  closed  the  scene  amidst 
many  cheers  in  response  to  the  following  toast:  O.  H.  Perry,  the  hero  of 

Lake  Erie. 

'  May  the  British  lion  lie  and  wheeze, 

While  swift  the  eagle  flies, 
Spreads  her  broad  pinions  o'er  the  seas, 
And  picks  out  both  his  eyes.' 

"In  those  early  times,  in  addition  to  the  4th  of  July,  the  general 
election  and  muster  days  were  times  looked  forward  to  with  great  inter- 
est by  the  early  pioneers.  On  election  day  they  would  gather  for  miles 
and  miles  around  at  the  voting  precinct.  Those  of  the  more  peacefully 
and  good  naturedly  inclined,  would  devote  the  day  to  fun  and  pleasure, 
and  in  a  jovial  and  enthusiastic  manner  would  champion  the  interest  of 
their  respective  candidates,  while  the  more  pugilistically  inclined,  would 
embrace  the  opportunity  to  display  their  physical  powers,  and  on  those 
days  many  and  bloody  were  the  encounters  that  would  occur  between  the 
neighborhood  champions,  as  their  friends  would  gather  around  them  to 
see  that  there  was  fair  play,  as  it  was  termed,  and  at  it  they  would  go, 
regardless  of  the  more  Christianized  rules  of  the  London  prize  ring,  and 


250  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

many  were  the  cheers  that  would  greet  the  champion  of  Hogan,  Wilson 
of  Tanner's  Creek,  as  he  was  declared  victor  over  the  town  champion, 
who  bleeding  and  discomfited  would  appease  his  wounded  spirit  by  the 
fond  hope  that  he  might  be  more  successful  the  next  time.  Politics  ran 
high;  they  entered  into  it  as  in  everything  else,  with  all  the  vim  and 
energy  of  their  enthusiastic  natures;  in  championing  their  respective 
candidates  for  the  various  oJB&ces,  they  rendered  to  them  that  devotion 
and  fidelity  that  would  have  done  honor  to  the  soldiers  of  Napoleon's  Old 
Guard.  The  papers  of  those  times  teemed  with  articles  of  a  personal 
nature,  filled  with  the  severest  invectives,  attacking  both  the  public  and 
private  characters  of  the  politicians  of  the  day.  There  seems  to  have 
been  one  person  who  wrote  under  the  nom  deplume  of  the  "Old  Man 
of  the  Mountain,"  said  to  have  been  James  M.  Bay,  who  had  been  drawn 
into  the  battle  with  a  number  of  the  gallants,  but  from  his  mountain 
fastness,  up  Tanner's  Creek,  hurled  forth  his  poisoned  javelins  with  an 
energy  that  must  have  discomfited  his  opponents." — Centennial  History. 

From  1812  to  1834,  there  were  no  banks  of  much  value  in  Dearborn 
County,  and  consequently  no  place  to  dispose  of  the  surplus  produce 
raised  in  the  '  Big  Bottom  '  and  Lawrenceburgh,  and  no  way  of  pro- 
curing money  (which  was  silver)  for  the  needs  of  the  country.  Conse- 
quently, there  were  thirteen  men  of  enterprise  who  began  the  New 
Orleans  trade;  their  names  are  Col.  Benjamin  Chambers,  Andrew  Mor- 
gan, David,  Ezra  and  Bailey  Guard,  Job  Miller,  Joseph,  Walter  and 
Jacob  Hayes,  Abiah  Hayes,  Jacob  Dennis,  Isaac  Dunn  and  Stephen 
Ludlow.  Among  these  traders,  Jacob  Hayes  acted  a  prominent  part. 
These  thirteen  men  were  vastly  of  more  importance  to  Lawi'enceburgh 
and  the  surrounding  country  than  any  bank  ever  established  here.  They 
bought  up  all  of  the  surplus  produce,  paying  for  it  in  silver  money,  and 
that  too  when  the  people  needed  it  most.  Jacob  Hayes  was  a  very  active 
and  prominent  trader  on  the  river  from  1820  to  1848,  having  from  two 
to  five  flat-boats  loaded  with  produce  on  the  river  at  one  time.  The 
writer  heard  him  say,  that  frequently  he  had  all  that  he  was  worth  afloat 
on  the  river.  Mr.  Hayes  was  prominent  in  establishing  the  Lawrence- 
burgh Insurance  Company,  and  one  among  its  largest  stockholders.  He 
was  also  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Lawrenceburgh  Branch  of  the  State 
Bank  of  Indiana. 

Quite  an  extensive  business  was  done  at  Lawrenceburgh  in  1826, 
something  that  astonished  the  people.  Its  great  business  interest  and 
commercial  supremacy  is  thus  set  forth  by  Mr.  John  Scott: 

"Some  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  commerce  and  growing  importance 
of  this  town  and  county  by  the  following  statement  of  produce  shipped 
at  the  river,  for  the  Mississippi  and  lower  country  market,  from  the  1st 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  251 

of  January  to  the  Ist  of  May,  1826,  a  period  of  four  months.  In  giv- 
ing this  statement  we  have  confined  ourselves  almost  exclusively  to  the 
produce  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  town,  not  having  it  in  our  power  to 
give  the  whole  amount  of  produce  exported  from  the  county,  which 
would,  it  is  believed,  swell  the  sum  to  $80,000  or  $100,000. 

SHIPMENT. 

14,140  bushels  corn  @  50  cents  per  bushel I  7,070  00 

51  horses  @  $75  each 3,825^00 

136toasof  hay;@  |30  per  ton 2,720  00 

45  head  of  cattle  @  $25  each 1,125  00 

2,131  barrels  pork  @  $6 12,786  00 

1,393  kegs  lard  @  $3 4,179  00 

493  live  hogs  @  |5 2,465  00 

66  hogsheads  of  hams  @  $32  per  hogshead 2,112  00 

10  tons  hams  @  |5  per  cwt 1,000  00 

11  barrels  hams  @  fSJper  barrel 88  00 

80  bushels  of  potatoes  @  50  cents  per  bushel 40  00 

186  barrels  flour  @  $3  per  barrel 558  00 

500  gallons  whisky  @  25  cents  per  gallon 125  00 

453  kegs  tobacco  @  $10.50  a  keg 4,756  00 

74  dozen  chickens  @  $2  per  dozen 148  00 

12,250  lbs.  pork,  in  bulk  @  4  cents 490  00 

$41,467  50" 

The  writer  said  he  made  no  mention  of  small  ai'tieles,  such  as  oats, 
hoop-poles,  flax  seed,  etc.,  which  he  thought  would  run  up  to  $6,000  or 
$7,000,  yet  it  had  amounted  to  the  above  large  sum.  He  also  informed 
us  that  to  carry  this  enormous  amount  of  produce  to  market  it  required 
twenty  flat-boats,  which  cost  an  average  each  of  $100.  He  places  the 
population  of  Lawrenceburgh  at  700.  It  had  150  handsome  brick  and 
frame  dwellings,  nine  stores,  five  taverns,  six  lawyers  and  three  physi- 
cians, with  a  vast  number  of  mechanics  of  various  professions. 

There  was  a  storehouse  five  stories  high,  which  was  considered  the 
best  from  Cincinnati  to  the  Falls  (at  Louisville).  "There  is  also,"  says 
the  writer,  "an  extensive  silk  lace  factory  established  in  the  town,  which 
supplies  a  large  district  of  country  with  the  article,  and  the  only  one  of 
the  kind  west  of  the  mountains  (referring  to  the  Alleghanies),  also  a 
printing  office  and  a  Masonic  lodge." 

The  following  description  of  Lawrenceburgh  is  taken  from  a  geogra- 
phy and  history  of  the  Western  States  published  in  1828: 

"It  stands  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  twenty-three  miles  below 
Cincinnati,  and  two  below  the  Big  Miami,  which  is  the  eastern  limit  of 
the  State.  This  town  is  in  the  center  of  a  rich  and  deep  bottom.  The 
ancient  village  was   built   on  the  first    bottom,   which    was    frequently 


252  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

exposed  to  inuadation.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  the  water  to  rise  four  or 
five  feet  above  the  foundations  of  the  houses  and  stores,  in  which  case 
the  inhabitants  remove  to  the  upper  story,  and  drive  their  domestic  ani- 
mals to  the  hills.  Visits  and  tea  parties  are  projected  in  the  inundated 
town,  and  the  vehicles  of  transport  are  skiffs  and  pirogues.  The  period 
of  the  flood,  from  ancient  custom,  and  from  the  suspension  of  all  the 
customary  pursuits,  has  become  a  time  of  carnival.  The  floods,  instead 
of  creating  disease,  wash  the  surface  of  the  earth,  carry  off  vegetable 
and  animal  matter  that  would  otherwise  putrify,  and  are  supposed  to  be 
rather  conducive  to  health  than  otherwise.  The  old  town,  built  on  the 
first  bank,  has  been  stationary  for  many  years.  New  Lawrenceburgh 
has  been  recently  built  on  the  second  bank,  and  on  elevated  ground, 
formed  by  the  bank  of  Tanner's  Creek.  Since  the  commencement  of 
this  town,  few  places  have  made  more  rapid  progress.  Many  of  the  new 
houses  are  handsome,  and  some  of  them  make  a  splendid  show  from  the 
river.  Its  position  in  relation  to  the  river,  and  the  rich  adjacent  coun- 
try, and  the  Big  Miami  is  highly  eligible.  It  has  a  number  of  commenc- 
ing manufactories,  and  promises  to  be  a  large  town." 

THE    WARREN    MURDER. 

The  following  account  of  the  murder  of  Palmer  Warren  by  Amasa 
Fuller  at  Lawrenceburgh,  in  1820,  and  the  trial  and  execution  of  the 
latter,  is  taken  from  the  Indiana  Oracle  of  May  7,  and  August  15,  1820: 

"  The  Circuit  Court  for  Dearborn  County  closed  its  session  on  Satur- 
day last.  The  whole  of  the  term  was  consumed  by  the  trial  of  Amasa 
Fuller,  on  an  indictment  for  the  murder  of  Palmer  Warren.  Few  trials 
have  excited  more  general  interest,  as  well  from  the  character  and  appear- 
ance of  the  prisoner,  as  from  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  atrocious 
deed.  The  circumstances  are  briefly  these:  Fuller  had  for  some  consid- 
erable time  prior  to  the  murder  of  Warren,  been  attentive  to  a  young 
lady  who  was  residing  with  her  uncle  in  Lawrenceburgh.  About  the  last 
of  November,  1819,  Fuller  left  this  place  for  Brookville;  while  there,  the 
unfortunate  deceased  commenced  an  intimacy  with  the  young  lady  to 
whom  Fuller  had  been  before  attached;  their  intimacy  resulted  in  an 
engagement  of  marriage,  which  was  to  have  been  consummated  on  the 
fatal  10th  of  January,  1820. 

"It  appeared  in  evidence,  that  about  the  middle  or  last  of  December, 
Fuller,  then  at  Brookville,  received  a  letter  in  the  handwriting  of  War- 
ren, and  signed  by  the  young  lady,  inclosing  a  ring,  in  which  she 
renounced  all  feelings  of  attachment  toward  him,  and  returned  him  the 
ring  which  she  had  received  from  him  in  pledge;  that  after  the  receipt 
of  this  letter.  Fuller  appeared  gloomy  and  melancholy,  and  on  Friday, 


CITY  OF  LAAVRENCEBURGH.  253 

January  7,  he  left  Brookville  on  foot,  and  arrived  at  Lawreneeburgh  in 
the  evening  of  that  day;  after  changing  his  wet  clothes  (it  having  rained) 
he  went  into  the  house  of  the  young  lady's  uncle,  next  to  Mr.  Coburn's 
hotel,  where  he  put  up,  and  was  there  frequently  between  the  time  of  his 
arrival  from  Brookville  and  the  day  of  the  murder;  meeting  Warren  at 
the  house  he  several  times  attempted  to  quarrel  with  him,  which  Warren 
as  often  declined.  On  Saturday,  the  5th  of  January,  it  appeared  that 
Fuller  borrowed  a  pair  of  pistols  with  the  avowed  design  of  shooting  at 
a  mark,  in  which  amusement  he  requested  several  young  men  to  partici- 
pate. On  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  he  asked  a  Mr.  Hitchcock  if  he  would 
go  out  and  hunt  with  him;  he  replied  that  he  would,  and  would  go  for 
his  gun;  Fuller  answered,  '  I  do  not  hunt  with  guns,  but  with  pistols.' 
On  Sunday,  January  9,  Fuller  seemed  cool  and  collected,  talked  on  vari- 
ous subjects  with  his  fellow  boarders,  and  declared  he  had  no  pretensions 
to  the  young  lady  in  question.  On  Monday  morning,  January  10,  he 
asked  Mr.  Hitchcock,  when  up  in  his  room  at  the  hotel,  which  was  the 
best  way  to  load  a  pistol  and  the  surest  way  to  kill;  and  observed,  '  I  am 
afraid  that  this  pistol  has  not  enough  powder  in  it;  how  shall  I  shoot  it 
off  so  as  not  to  be  heard  ?  (it  must  be  observed  that  Warren's  office  is 
under  the  same  roof  with  Coburn's  Hotel.)  Fuller  went  down  stairs, 
and  shortly  after  came  up,  saying,  '  I  have  shot  it  off  and  no  person  heard 
me.'  Fuller  then  loaded  the  pistols  with  powder  and  four  slugs  each. 
Hitchcock  told  him  he  hoped  he  had  no  evil  design.  Fuller  replied,  'I 
have  Dot,  but  will  show  you  some  fun.'  Fuller  then  put  on  a  great  coat, 
which  he  had  borrowed  from  Mr.  Coburn,  and  feeling  it  had  pockets,  he 
put  one  pistol  in  each  pocket  of  the  coat,  and  walked  down  stairs,  having 
previously  asked  Hitchcock  if  he  could  discover  that  he  had  pistols.  It 
appeared  further  in  evidence,  that  Fuller  left  the  house,  came  back  and 
went  out  again;  he  was  seen  by  Mr.  Farrar  (who  was  standing  in  the 
door  of  his  house,  next  but  one  to  Warren's  office),  to  come  out  of  Coburn's 
bar-room  about  a  yard  behind  Warren,  who  unlocked  the  door  of  his 
office  and  entered,  followed  by  Fuller;  in  about  three- fourths  of  a  minute 
Mr.  Farrar  heard  the  report  of  a  pistol  in  Warren's  office,  instantly  ran 
there,  and  attempting  to  open  the  door,  it  was  stopped  by  something,  and 
looking  down  he  discovered  the  body  of  Warren  lying  crosswise  the  door; 
he  pushed  open  the  door,  and  upon  entering  the  office  discovered  Fuller 
standing  beside  the  body,  and  the  room  tilled  with  smoke  and  the  smell 
of  powder.  Warren  was  not  yet  dead,  but  struggling  in  the  last  agonies. 
Mr.  Farrar  seized  hold  of  Fuller,  exclaiming!  'Good  heavens!  Fuller,  is 
it  possible  you  have  done  this?'  Fuller  replied,  *I  am  a  man,  and  have 
acted  the  part  of  a  man;  I  have  been  ridding  the  earth  of  a  vile  reptile; 
I  glory  in   the  deed! '     The  pistols  were  found   lying  on  the  counter  in 


254  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

the  office,  one  discharged  of  its  contents,  the  other  still  charged;  a  writ- 
ing was  found  on  the  iioov,  the  substance  of  which  was,  that  Warren,  in 
the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  swore  to  renounce  all  pretensions  to  the 
young  lady,  and  acknowledged  himself  to  be  a  base  liar  and  a  scoundrel. 
Fuller  said,  after  his  arrest,  that  he  had  presented  this  paper  to  Warren^ 
desiring  him  to  sign  it;  he  refused;  he  then  offered  him  a  pistol,  bidding 
him  defend  ^himself  like  a  man;  this  Warren  also  refused,  and  that  he 
then  shot  the  cowardly  rascal.  The  body  of  Warren  was  pierced  with  a 
wound  just  below  the  pap  of  the  left  breast.  It  does  not  appear  that 
Warren  had  ever  taken  any  undue  advantages  of  Fuller,  or  even  spoke 
a  disrepectful  word  of  him  to  the  young  lady  or  any  other  person. 

"The  prosecution  was  conducted  by  Amos  Lane  and  John  Test,  Esqs. , 
the  prisoner  was  ably  defended  by  Charles  Dewey,  Joseph  S.  Benham, 
Daniel  J  Caswell,  William  C.  Drew,  Samuel  Q.  Richardson,  and  Merrit 
S.  Craig,  Esqs.  The  counsel  for  the  prisoner  moved  to  continue  the 
trial  until  the  next  term  of  this  court,  on  an  affidavit  of  the  absence  of 
two  material  witnesses.  This  motion  was  overruled  by  the  court  because 
not  stating  the  facts  to^be  proved  by  those  two  witnesses.  Another 
motion  was  then  made  for  continuance  by  the  counsel  for  the  prisoner, 
on  affidavit  that  popular  prejudice  ran  so  high,  that  the  prisoner  could 
not  have  a  fair  trial.  The  opinion  of  the  Court  was:  That  if  the  fact 
thus  stated  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  prisoner  subsequent  to  the 
former  motion  for  a  continuance,  he  would  listen  to  it;  but  as  it  does 
not  appear  that  it  did,  the  motion  was  overruled.  The  defense  set  up 
on  the  trial  was  insanity.  It,  however,  appeared  in  evidence  that  the 
prisoner  had  been  thought  by  those  witnesses  who  had  seen  him,  to  be 
more  gloomy  and  melanchoUy  than  usual,  and  as  if  something  disturbed 
his  mind;  but  nothing  like  insanity  was  made  out.  After  a  long  and 
patient  hearing  of  the  testimony,  which  was  very  consistent  and  positive, 
and  after  an  able  defense  by  the  prisoner's  counsel,  the  jury  retired, 
and  in  about  two  hours  returned  into  the  court  with  a  verdict  of  guilty. 
On  Saturday  morning  the  sentence  of  the  court  was  passed  by  his  honor, 
Judge  Eggleston,  that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  be  remanded  to  his  place 
of  confinement,  and  be  thence  conducted  on  Friday,  the  31st  of  March? 
inst.,  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  be  there  hanged  by  the  neck  until  he 
be  dead!  Fuller  preserved  throughout  his  trial,  and  at  the  time  the 
Judge  pronounced  to  him  his  awful  doom  that  his  days  were  numbered, 
a  stern,  inflexible  countenance. 

"Yesterday  (Tuesday,  August  14,  1820)  being  the  day  appointed  for 
the  execution  of  Amasa  Fuller,  who  was  condemned  for  the  murder  of 
Palmer  Warren,  thousands  of  men,  women  and  children,  from  all  quarters^ 
assembled  to  witness  the  awful  spectacle.     At  about  11:30  o'clock  A.  M., 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  255 

the  prisoner  was  conducted  from  the  jail,  accompanied^by  several  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel,  and  under  a  strong  military  guard;  on  reaching  the 
scaffold  he  ascended  the  ladder  with  a  firm  and  steady[step;  a^  psalm 
was  then  sung;  the  throne  of  Grace  was  addressed  by  the  Eev.  Mr. 
Lambden  (who  had  attended  him  for  several  days),  a  short  address  was 
then  made  to  the  multitude  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Plummer,  after  which  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  was  administered  to  him  by  Mr.  Lambden.  After 
taking  an  affectionate  leave  of  the  ministers,  sheriff,  and  a  few  others, 
the  cap  was  drawn  over  his  face,  and  at  about  12:30  the  drop  fell — here 
let  us  pavise — the  rope  broke,  and  he  fell  to  the  ground.  He  was  imme- 
diately again  suspended,  and  after  a  few  struggles  his  spirit  took  its 
flight,  we  trust,  to  take  a  seat  in  that  mansion  above,  'not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.'  The  body  hung  about  forty  minutes, 
when  it  was  cut  down  and  given  to  his  friends  for  interment. 

"This  unfortunate  man  had  long  been  one  of  the  strongest  advocates 
for  infidelity,  but,  oh,  with  what  rapture  do  we  proclaim  to  his  friends, 
to  the  world  of  mankind,  that  he  gave  the  blessed  assurance  that  it 
pleased  the  Almighty  to  open  his  eyes  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  He 
publicly  renounced  all  his  former  opinions  and  relied  wholly  upon  the 
merits  of  the  Redeemer  for  a  blessed  immortality. " 

THE  DECADE  BETWEEN  1830  AND  1840. 

From  the  year  1820  to  1830  the  town  increased  beyond  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  incorporators;  the  future  prospects  were  indeed  gratifying; 
everything  indicated  that  the  town  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the 
largest  in  our  State,  all  the  various  kinds  of  manufactories'^  were  being 
established.  Substantial  buildings  were  rapidly  being  erected,  and  a 
spirit  of  energy  and  enterprise  seemed  to  pervade  all  the  citizens,  who 
ever  took  a  just  pride  in  a  town  of  their  creation.  Substantial  churches 
and  schoolhouses  were  being  built,  good  and  wholesome  laws  were  being 
adopted  for  the  government  of  the  corporation,  and  all  was  prosperous 
until  the  year  1832,  when  the  great  floods  of  that  year  seemed  to  crush 
for  a  time  its  growth,  and  dampened  the  energy  of  its  citizens.  The 
flood  occurred  in  February  of  that  year,  and  rose  to  a  greater  height 
than  any  that  had  preceded  it  since  the  settlement  of  this  town,  or  any 
that  has  occurred  since  that  date.  It  was  between  two  and  three  feet 
above  the  present  level  of  High  Street.  It  was  quite  disastrous,  destroy- 
ing a  great  deal  of  property,  and  carrying  off  a  number  of  small  frame 
and  log-houses.  The  town  presented  a  novel  appearance  for  nearly  two 
weeks;  the  entire  business  was  carried  on  by  the  citizens  floating  around 
on  rudely  constructed  rafts.  There  were  no  promenade  concerts,  and 
the  old-fashioned,  quilting  parties  our  early   dames   delighted  in,  were 


256  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

unavoidably  postponed.  Everybody  was  on  a  common  level,  and  the 
cattle  and  hogs  had  rights  that  were  respected,  and  after  the  waters  had 
subsided,  it  was  discovered  that  an  old  sow  had  taken  posession  of  the 
pulpit  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  Walnut  street;  and  dur- 
ing the  entire  time  remained  secure  in  her  devotions  from  the  interference 
of  the  outside  rabble. 

Near  this  time  there  occurred  an  accident  that  cast  a  gloom  over 
the  town.  The  little  log-house  erected  on  the  southwest  corner  of  High 
and  Walnut  Streets,  by  William  Morgan,  was  still  standing,  and  in  it 
was  kept  a  store  by  Darragh  &  Askew;  adjoining  on  High  Street,  Mv. 
John  L.  Bishop  had  erected  a  brick  building  for  a  saddler  shop,  and  run 
up  a  fire  wall  next  to  the  log  building.  One  evening  during  a  storm,  the 
fire  wall  was  blown  over  upon  the  log  building.  There  were  in  it  at  the 
time  Mr.  Askew  Darragh,  John  Mason,  James  M.  Brasher  and  Thomas 
Longley.  Mr.  Askew  was  instantly  killed.  Mason  was  so  severely  hurt 
that  he  died  in  a  short  time  afterward.  Darragh,  Brasher  and  Longley 
escaped  with  very  slight  injuries. 

For  a  few  years,  the  improvement  of  the  city  was  very  slack,  but 
upon  the  passage  of  the  Internal  Improvement  Bill  by  the  Legislature, 
and  the  town  being  made  the  terminus  of  the  White  Water  Canal,  a  fresh 
impetus  was  given,  and  buildings  and  manufactories  were  erected  rapidly. 
The  most  of  the  three- story  blocks  of  business  houses  in  the  city  at  pres- 
ent, were  built  during  this  period,  including  the  old  bank  building.  A. 
P.  Hobb's  distillery  was  built  in  1836.  E.  D.  Johns'  flour-mill,  known 
now  as  the  Old  Water  Mill,  in  1837.  Brown  &  Lamping  were  manufact- 
uring furniture  where  Burkam's  planing-mills  are.  Edwin  G.  Pratt  had 
a  foundry  in  Newtown.  John  B.  Carrington,  a  man  of  extraordinary 
mechanical  genins,  was  engaged  in  making  steam  engines.  George  H. 
Dunn  and  John  Test  were  engaged  in  testing  the  capacity  of  the  town  to 
support  a  cotton  factory,  between  the  vacation  of  their  courts,  as  they 
were  both  very  prominent  lawyers,  but  men  of  great  energy,  and  devoted 
to  building  up  the  town  of  their  pride.  The  report  comes  down  to  us 
that  the  project  succeeded  in  the  same  degree  that  our  magnificent  woolen 
mills  of  to-day  has.  Very  soon  the  spindles  remained  idle.  Cooperage 
was  manufactured  to  a  large  extent,  and  a  great  deal  of  pork  was  an- 
nually packed  here.  Hon.  George  H.  Dunn  had  commenced  his  project 
to  build  a  railroad  from  here  to  Indianapolis,  and  urged  it  forward  with 
his  usual  characteristic  energy,  the  citizens  of  the  town  rendering  their 
iiniversal  support,  and  contributing  liberally  of  their  means,  but  was 
ultimately  forced  to  abandon  it,  Mr.  Vandegraflf,  the  chief  engineer 
having  died  near  Greensburgh,  while  engaged  in  making  the  survey, 
which  caused  the  suspension  of  the  work  for  some  time.     Afterward  the 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  257 

survey  was  completed,  estimates  made,  and  contracts  for  work  entered 
into,  and  commenced  in  many  places  along  the  line,  when  on  account  of 
the  financial  difficulties  of  1838  and  1839,  the  company  was  forced  to 
abandon  the  undertaking,  resulting  in  a  heavy  loss  to  many  uf  the 
stockholders,  and  a  great  detriment  to  the  growth  of  the  city." 

OBSEKVANCE  OF  INDEPENDENCE  DAY,   1831. 

The  anniversary  of  American  Independence  in  1831  was  celebrated  in 
Lawrenceburgh  by  the  different  Sabbath-schools  in  the  neighborhood. 
About  11  o'clock  a  procession  was  forrned  on  High  Street,  under  the 
direction  of  the  marshals  of  the  day,  and  proceeded  to  a  grove  about  one- 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  town,  where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
read,  and  a  very  appropriate  and  eloquent  address  delivered  by  Judge 
Holman.  After  which  suitable  refreshments  were  distributed  among  the 
children,  and  they  were  then  marched  back  to  town  and  dismissed;  pres- 
ent 1,000  persons. 

On  the  same  day  a  number  of  citizens  convened  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
H.  Fitch,  and  partook  of  an  excellent  dinner  prepared  by  him.  The 
company  then  removed  to  another  table,  prepared  for  drinking  toasts, 
where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  by  Judge  Test,  and  a 
variety  of  patriotic  toasts  disposed  of  with  the  utmost  harmony  and  good 
feeling.      Capt.  Thomas  Porter  presided  on  this  occasion. 

LAWRENCEBURan    A    CITY. 

Old  and  New  Lawrenceburgh  were  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1846, 
under  "  an  act  granting  the  citizens  of  Madison  and  Lawrenceburgh  a 
City  Charter. "  The  first  election  was  held  at  Lawrenceburgh  April  6, 
1846,  at  which  were  elected  David  Macy  and  Milton  Beach,  councilmen 
for  the  First  Ward,  and  Gardner  Elliott  for  the  Second  Ward.  By  the 
"Indiana  Register,"  a  State  work  published  in  1846,  Lawrenceburgh  then 
contained  a  population  of  3,000.  The  names  of  the  attorneys,  physi- 
cians and  business  men  given  in  that  publication  were  as  follows:  Attor- 
neys— George  H.  Dunn,  Amos  Lane,  P.  L.  Spooner,  John  Ryman,  D.  S. 
Major,  Abram  Brower,  D.  Macy,  William  S.  Holman,  James  T.  Brown, 
James  H.  Lane,  J.  S.  Jelley  and  T.  Gazley  ;  physicians — Ezra  Ferris, 
Jeremiah  H.  Brown,  Elisha  Morgan,  M.  H.  Harding,  E.  P.  Bond,  Milo 
Black  and  William  Starm  ;  principal  merchants — George  Tonsey,  C.  G. 
W.  Comegys,  John  Gray,  Craft  &  Co.,  Lemly  &  Dunn,  Wymond  &  Ferris, 
Houck  &  Wedelstaldt,  J.  Gyse  &  Co. ,  R.  &  A.  Parry,  L.  B.  Lewis,  James 
S.  Heath,  John  Ferris  &  Co. 

GROWTH  AND  PROGRESS. 

Important  eras  in  the  city's  history,  which  greatly  contributed  to  its 

15 


258  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

growth  and  progress,  were  in  the  decade  between  1830  and  1840,  when 
was  agitated  the  question  of  internal  improvements;  the  bill  passing  in 
1836,  which  led  to  the  construction  of  the  Whitewater  Canal  soon  after, 
the  terminus  of  which  was  at  Lawi-enceburgh;  the  agitation  and  build- 
ing of  the  railroads  through  the  city,  which  were  soon  thereafter  begun, 
though  not  completed  until  early  in  the  decade  between  1850  and  1860, 
and  the  introduction  and  building  of  the  macadamized  roads  and  pikes, 
which  were  begun  late  in  the  decade  between  1830  and  1840,  and  were 
gradually  completed  and  extended  in  succeeding  decades.  In  the  year 
1850  Mr.  George  H.  Dunn,  the  leading  spirit  in  the  building  of  the 
Lawrenceburgh  &  Indiannpolis  Railroad,  succeeded  in  reviving  the  com- 
pany, which  on  account  of  the  fijiancial  difficulties  of  1838  and  1839 
had  been  forced  to  abandon  the  undertaking,  and  the  road  was  complet- 
ed. From  that  date  to  the  present  time,  the  city  has  continued  to  enjoy 
a  slow  and  sure  growth,  and  has  become  noted  for  its  various  manufacto- 
ries, and  the  enterprise  of  its  citizens. 

The  census  of  1830  gave  Lawrenceburgh  a  population  of  895;  the 
estimated  population  of  1833  was  1,000,  when  the  place  presented  9 
mercantile  stores,  1  drug  store,  3  taverns,  eight  lawyers,  4  physi- 
cians, 3  schools,  2  brick  churches,  a  brick  court  house,  a  stone  jail, 
a  market  house,  and  2  printing  offices,  each  of  which  issued  a  weekly 
newspaper;  and  since  1840,  as  given  by  the  United  States  census, 
at  each  decade  (except  1860)  it  has  been  as  follows:  1840,  1,450;  1850, 
2,651;  1870,  3,159;  1880,  4,700.  The  population  is  now  (1885)  estimat- 
ed at  upward  of  5,000.  Of  the  population  of  1880,4,700,  1,075  were 
of  foreign  birth.  During  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880  the  city  was 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  ranked  among  the  first  manufacturing 
cities  in  the  State.  At  this  writing  (1885)  though  having  escajDed  but 
one  year  out  of  four,  during  which  the  city  was  submerged  throughout 
by  the  floods  of  the  Ohio  River,  causing  a  great  destruction  of  property, 
besides  a  suspension  of  business  for  days  and  weeks  at  a  time,  the  citi- 
zens ai'e  evincing  a  determination  to  maintain  the  high  position  the 
city  has  gained  as  a  manufacturing  point,  and  a  spirit  of  enterprise  and 
public  improvement  is  exhibited  by  them  never  excelled  under  like  cir- 
cumstances. During  the  building  season  of  1883,  after  the  second  flood, 
in  addition  to  reconstructing  houses  wrecked  by  the  flood,  over  fifty  new 
buildings  were  erected,  costing  from  $500  to  83,000  each.  The  previous 
season  (1882)  there  were  fifty- one  buildings  erected.  In  1880  the  city 
presented  sixteen  productive  establishments  of  industry,  with  a  capital 
of  $1,350,000  invested,  and  a  total  value  of  manufactured  products  of 
$1,895,952  during  the  census  year,  for  which  was  paid  for  wages  $290,- 
967.  This  included  only  those  factories  that  produced  over  $500  annu- 
ally. 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  259 

ODD    FELLOWS     BUILDING    AND  CITY    HALL. 

On  the  southeast  corner  of  Walnut  and  High  Streets  is  located  a 
graceful  three- story  brick  building,  44x75  feet,  the  first  floor  of  which  is 
used  as  store  rooms,  the  second  as  a  public  or  city  hall,  and  the  third 
floor  is  the  Odd  Fellows  Hall,  for  which  purpose  the  building  was  erected 
in  1853  at  U  cost  of  about  $8,000  in  round  numbers,  the  greater  portion 
of  which  was  subscribed  by  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows  of  the  city.  The 
building  was  completed  in  1855,  and  Oddl  Fellows  Hall  dedicated  June 
6  of  that  year.  The  completion  of  this  edifice  was  the  occasion  of  some 
demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  the  city.  On  the  morning 
of  its  dedication.  Grand  Representative  Daniel  Moss,  of  Grreensburg, 
Ind.,  officiated  as  Grand  Master  at  the  ceremonies  held  in  the  hall.  In 
the  afternoon  the  order,  attired  in  their  rich  regalia,  formed  in  a  proces- 
sion attended  by  the  Newport  Brass  Band,  paraded  the  streets  and 
assembled  at  the  depot  of  the  Big  Four  Railroad,  where  an  address  was 
delivered  by  Rev.  I.  D.  Williamson,  of  Cincinnati.  During  the  after- 
noon and  evening  the  ladies  held  a  strawberry  festival  at  the  hall. 

THE  CITY,    1858-59. 

From  a  business  standpoint  Lawrenceburgh  made  the  following 
exhibit  in  1858-59:  1  steam  flouring-mill,  1  water  flouring-mill,  3  dis- 
tilleries, 2  breweries,  5  hotels,  2  newspaper  offices,  6  churches  and  10 
schools,  with  an  estimated  population  of  4,000  inhabitants. 

Adler,  L.,  milliner. 

Adler,  H.,  dealer  in  dry  goods. 

Armstrong,  C ,  manufacturer  of  chairs  and  furniture. 

Anderson,  B.  T.  W.  S.,  proprietor  eating  saloon. 

Bartholomew,  Joseph,  proprietor  Lawrenceburgh  House. 

Barkdall,  D.  S.,  cooper. 

Beckenholdt,  John,  brewer. 

Beckman,  Alexander,  proprietor  wharf  boat  and  commission  merchant, 

Boese,  H,  confectioner  and  dealer  in  fancy  goods. 

Bolander,  Amos,  proprietor  Bolander  House. 

Bookwalter,  A.,  editor  and  proprietor  Democratic  Register. 

Brodbeck,  George,  ice  cream  saloon. 

Brown,  William,  manufacturer  of  furniture. 

Brown,  James  T.,  attorney  at  law. 

Browneller,  F.,  tanner  and  currier. 

Bryant  &  Lord,  manufacturers  steam  engines  and  boilers,  saw  and 
grist-mi  ir  machinery,  etc. 

Buel,  G.  P.,  produce  and  commission  merchant. 

Carbaugh  &  Braun,  grocers. 


260  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUNTIES. 

Chapman  &  Sons,  grocers. 

Chew,  J.    P.,  dealer   in   books,  stationery,    etc.,   and  agent   Adams 
Express  Co. 

Crist  &  Bell,  dealers  in  hardware. 

Crontz,  J.  D.,  blacksmith. 

Crooker,  Mrs.  E.  A.,  milliner  and  dress-maker. 

Dexheimer,  Philip,  blacksmith. 

Dorr,  v.,  blacksmith. 

Dorr,  J.,  wagon- maker. 

Dowden,  O.  W.,  saddler  and  harness-maker. 

Drake  &  Merrill,  wagon-makers. 

Dunn,  Mrs.   S.  E.,  ambrotypist. 

Eckert,  M.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Edwards,  Miss  Annie,  milliner. 

Ferguson,  G.  W.,  house  and  sign  painter. 

Ferris  &  Abbott,  druggists. 

Ferris,  J.,  insurance  agent. 

Fichter,  M.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Finney,  Gr.  B.,  pump-maker. 

Fitch,  D.  C,  grocer. 

Fitch,  H,,  proprietor  Fitch  House. 

Focal,  Peter,  proprietor  Railroad  House. 

Frances,  J.  &  T.,  carpenters. 

Frederick,  P.,  brick- maker. 

Prein,  P.,  boot  and  shoe- maker. 

Gaff  &  Marshall,  millers  and  distillers. 

Gurnier  &  Ebert,  brewers. 

Guzley,  T.  &  C,  attorneys. 

Grojf,  R.,  dealer  in  hats  and  caps. 

Gysie,  J.,  grocer  and  dealer  in  liquors. 

Harding  &  Tate,  physicians  and  surgeons. 

Hanbold,  N. ,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Hauck,  J.  J.,  hardware  dealer. 

Heifer  &  Woodward,  carriage  manufacturers. 

Helmuth,  H.  R.,  dealer  in  dry  goods. 

Henry,  J.  W.,  saddles  and  harness. 

Herrold,  H.,  daguerrean  artist. 

Hirsch,  H.,  tobacconist. 

Hitzfield,  A.,  dealer  in  wines  and  liquors. 

Hitzfield,  A.,  attorney. 

Hobbs,  H.  K.,  cashier  Branch  Bank. 

Hommer,  J.,  grocer. 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  261 

Hornberger,  John,  dealer  in  wines  and  liquors. 

Huschart,  G.,  dealer  in  marble. 

Johnson,  F.  S.,  stoves  and  tinware. 

Junker,  J.  M. ,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Junker,  A.,  barber. 

Kalen,  B.,  tailor. 

Kauffman,  I.  C,   cooper. 

Kestner,  G.  A.,  proprietor  Rossville  Exchange. 

Kraas,  William,  grocer  and  baker. 

Kramer,  F.,  grocer  and  liquor  dealer. 

Krastner,  A.  grocer. 

Luke,  Miss  Martha,  milliner. 

Lewis  &  Eichelberger,'*^millers. 

Lewis  &  Moore,  dealers  in  dry  goods. 

Lewis,  L.  B.  &  Bro.,  dry  goods  dealers. 

Loge,  J.  P.,  clothier. 

Lominel,  H.,   grocer. 

Lommel,  P.,  resturantand  grocer, 

Lucas,  T.  J.,  watchmaker  and  jeweler. 

Ludlow  &  Tate,  lumber  dealers  and  manufacturers. 

Lutman,  H.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Lyons,  M.,  tobacconist. 

Mass,  M. ,  merchant  tailor. 

McCormick,  J.,  merchant  tailor. 

McGrath,  T.,  blacksmith. 

Major,  D.  S.,  attorney. 

Martin,  S.  A.,  editor  and  proprietor  Republican  Banner. 

Martin,  S.,  cooper. 

Moody,  A.,  barber. 

Moody,  I.,  barber. 

Mooney,  J.,  clothier. 

Moore  &  Spooner,  grocers. 

Moore,  Mrs.  L.  A.,  milliner. 

Moore,  Reuben,  cooper. 

Morgan  &  Son,  distillers. 

Morgan,  A.,  dry  goods  and  groceries. 

Morgan,  F.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Nevitt,  Major  &  Co.,  commission  merchants. 

Puny,  R.  H.,  dealer  in  dry  goods. 

Pfeister,  F.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Ret j  en,  C,  barber. 

Richards,  J.  F.,  justice  of  the  peace. 


262  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Eiddell,  F.,  postmaster. 

Rittenhouse  &  Williams,  millers  and  distillers. 
Rodgers,  R.,  livery  stable. 
Roth,  Michael,  grocer. 
Schmidt,  J.  F.,  boarding  house  and  saloon. 
Schmitt,  A.,  physician  and  surgeon. 
Schneider,  W.  boot  and  shoe-maker. 
Schwartz,  John,  attorney  (mayor). 
Schwartz,  Alex,  dealer  in  wines  and  liquors. 
Schwartz,  Alex,  clothier. 
Siemandel,  J.  cooper. 
Sheldon,  G.  B.,  stoves  and  timware. 
Smith,  H.  F.,  grocer. 
Smith.  H.  F.,  coal  dealer. 
Sparks,  D.  E.,  dealer  in  dry  goods. 
Sparks,  N.,  grocer. 
Spooner,  P.  L.,  attorney. 
Spoon er,  B.  J.,  attorney. 
Stum,  Andrew,  cooper. 
Swope,  J.  H.,  cooper. 
Temple,  C.  W.,  insurance  agent. 
Ulrey,  J.  P.,  dentist. 
Walter,  R.,  druggist. 
Wipple,  A.,  proprietor  Washington  Hall. 
Water,  P.,  blacksmith. 
Werneke  &  Muerman,  tobacconists. 
Wert,  W.,  cooper. 
White,  Mrs.  E.,  dressmaker. 
Wuest,  P.  H.,  baker. 
^Wymond,  John,  grocer, 
Zimmerman,  P.,  tailor. 

THE    BANKING    BUSINESS. 

The  first  banking  institution!  of  the  early  village  was  known  as  the 
Farmers  and  Mechanics  Bank,  which  had  an  existence,  probably,  of  not 
more  than  a  decade  at  the  furthest.  Its  business  was  carried  on  in  the 
brick  building  adjoining  the  residence  of  W.  D.  H.  Hunter,  on  High 
Street,  a  date  on  the  building  indicating  that  it  was  erected  in  1817. 
Isaac  Dunn  was  president,  and  Thomas  Porter  was  cashier  of  this  bank 
at  about  this  time.  In  1820  the  directors  of  this  bank  were  Isaac  Dunn, 
Ezra  Ferris,  Isaac  Morgan,  Walter  Armstrong,  John  Weaver,  David 
Guard,  Lazarus  Noble,  Stephen  Ludlow,  Levi  Miller,  Moses  Schott, 
George  Weaver,  Samuel  Bond  and  Amos  Lane. 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  263 

The  State  Bank  of  Indiana  was  chartered  January  13,  1834,  and  com- 
menced operations  November  19,  of  that  year,  with  ten  branches,  having 
a  capital  stock  of  11,760,000.  A  branch  was  established  at  Lawrence- 
burgh,  November  15,  of  that  year.  The  first  board  of  directors  were 
Omar  Tousey,  William  Tait,  Norval  Sparks,  J.  P.  Dunn,  Walter  Hayes, 
George  Tousey,  D.  S.  Major  and  Richard  Tyner,  of  Brookville.  The 
directors  on  the  part  of  the  State  were  Pinkney  James  and  Jesse  Hunt. 
The  first  president  of  the  bank  was  Omar  Tousey,  and  the  first  cashier 
Enoch  D.  John.  The  institution  was  to  have  commenced  operations  in 
the  latter  part  of  November,  1834,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $80,000.  The 
branch  at  Lawrenceburgh  erected  the  elegant  and  substantial  banking 
house  on  the  northeast  side  of  Short  Street  between  High  and  the  Ohio 
&  Mississippi  Railroad,  now  occupied  by  the  Peoples  National  Bank. 
This  bank,  on  the  expiration  of  its  charter,  was  succeeded  by  the  Bank 
of  the  State  of  Indiana,  a  branch  of  which  was  established  at  Lawrence- 
buro-h,  the  business  of  which  was  carried  on  in  the  same  building  above 
referred  to,  and  under  the  same  regime,  the  latter  being  officered  for 
some  years  by  E.  G.  Burkam  as  president,  and  H.  K.  Hobbs,  cashier. 

August  5,  1863,  was  organized  the  First  National  Bank  of  Lawrence- 
burgh by  Walter  Hayes,  Joseph  Hayes,  Jr.,  Anson  Marshall,  Theodore 
Gazlay,  Carter  Gazlay,  DeWitt  C.  Fitch,  Ezra  G.  Hayes,  Samuel  Morri- 
son, Isaac  Dunn,  Thomas  Sunman,  Samuel  L.  Jones,  James  C.  Hayes  and 
James  C.  Martin,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $55,000.  The  directors  were 
Walter  Hayes,  Samuel  Morrison,  Samuel  L.  Jones,  DeWitt  C.  Fitch, 
Carter  Gazlay,  E^J.  Hayes  and  Joseph  Hayes,  Sr. ;  president,  DeWitt 
C.  Fitch;  Isaac  Dunn,  cashier.  The  bank  was  carried  on  in  the  building 
located  on  Short  Street,  nearly  opposite  the  Peoples'  National  Bank,  is 
built  of  brick  and  two  stories  high,  24x64  feet,  fire  proof, 
with  the  Masonic  Lodge]in  the  upper  story.  It  is  fitted  up  in  fine 
style  for  the  business,  with  a  fire  proof  vault,  and  one  of  Hall's  latest  im- 
proved burglar  safes.  At  different  times  the  capital  stock  was  increased 
until  it  reached  $100,000.  Mr.  Fitch  was  annually  elected  its  president 
from  its  organization  to  its  close.  This  bank,  on  the  expiration  of  its 
charter,  merged  into  the  City  National  Bank  of  Lawrenceburgh,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1883,  which  suspended  business  in  August,  1883. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1865,  the  old  branch  of  the  bank  of  the 
State  was  transferred  into  a  national  bank  with  a  paid  up  capital  of 
$200,000.  The  directors  were]  Joseph  H.  Burkam,  Joseph  Hayes,  Sr., 
Ezra,  G.  Hayes,  L.  B.  Lewis,  K.  M.  Lewis,  E.  S.  Blasdell,  Warren 
West,  W.  H.  Baker,  Samuel  Morrison.  Ezra  G.  Hayes  was  chosen 
president  and  L.  B.  Lewis  cashier.  The  county  press  at  this  time  thus 
commented  on  this  organization:     "The  large  wealth,  high  moral  stand- 


264  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

ing  and  business  qualifications  of  the  owners,  directors  and  officers  is 
an  ample  and  sufficient  guarantee  to  the  public  for  any  confidence  that 
may  be  reposed  in  the  institution."  The  business  of  the  bank  was 
transacted  under  the  name  off  the  Lawrenceburgh  National  Bank.  In 
1872,  this  bank  was  succeeded  by  a  private  bank  styled  the  Lawrence- 
burgh Banking  Company,  owned  and  managed  by  E.  G.  and  J.  H. 
Burkam,  which  in  February,  1875,  was  succeeded  by  a  private  bank 
styled  the  Peoples  Bank  under  the  firm  name  of  William  Probasco, 
Braun  &  Co.,  with  a  capital  of  from  $50,000  to  $100,000.  January  1, 
1882,  the  Peoples  Bank  merged  into  the  Peoples  National  Bank,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $100,000,  conducted  under  the  same  management  and  offi- 
cered by  William  Probasco,  president;  Henry  Probasco,  vice-president; 
Peter  Braun,  cashier;  and  Will  Braun,  assistant  cashier;  all  men  whose 
business  qualifications  are  well  known  and  appreciated,  and  who  have  the 
entire  confidence  of  the  city  and  surrounding  country.  Mr.  Braun 
(who  has  had  many  years'experience  in  the  banking  business),  and  his  son 
are  courteous  and  affable  men  to  transact  bu.siness  with.  This,  the  only 
living  bank  of  the  city,  is  carried  on  in  the  building  erected  by  the 
branch  of  the  State  bank. 


THE    FIRE    OF    JULY    4,     1866. 

Probably  the  greatest  fire  that  ever  visited  the  city,  which  in  two 
hours  laid  waste  fifteen  or  twenty  buildings  and  stables  in  the  central 
portion  of  the  place,  destroying  property  to  the  value  of  $60,000,  oc- 
curred July  4,  1866.  The  fire  originated  in  a  shed  in  the  rear  of  the  prop- 
erty formerly  owned  by  William  Kraas,  on  High  Street,  between  Short 
and  Elm.  The  heaviest  loss  was  by  Lewis  &  Eichelberger,  who  had  over 
1,000  barrels  of  dour  and  15,000  empty  barrels  burned  in  their  ware- 
house; total  including  building  $20,000,  fully  covered  by  insurance.  The 
next  heaviest  loss  was  by  Bryant  &  Lord,  of  their  foundry  buildings, 
some  machinery,  and  a  large  number  of  valuable  patterns,  also  their 
dwelling  on  Elm  Street;  loss  $15,000,  insured  for  $3,000.  John  H. 
Ross'  dwelling;  loss  $2,500,  insurance  $1,000.  Isaac  Dunn's  loss, 
dwelling  occupied  by  Mrs.  Strange  Dunn,  $1,000,  barn  and  contents 
$2,000,  insurance  $700.  Nevitt  &  Major's  warehouse,  loss  $5,000.  Jas. 
Wyman  &  Co.,  500  oil  barrels  stored  in  warehouse,  $1,000.  Mr,  Van- 
horn,  100  tons  of  hay,  insurance  $1,000.  Lawrenceburgh  woolen  factory, 
machinery  stored  in  warehouse,  value  $1,000,  insurance  $850.  M, 
Zimmer  two-story  brick  bake  shop  and  out-buildings,  loss  $1,000.  There 
were  a  number  of  minor  losses. 


CITY  OF   LA.WRENCEBURGH.  265 

ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Laivrenceburgh. — Since  its  first 
planting  in  this  country  a  little  over  100  years  ago,  Methodism  has 
always  kept  even  pace  with  Western  immigration.  Scarcely  has  the  rude 
cabin  of  the  forest  been  completed,  and  the  first  fire  kindled  upon  the 
earthen  hearth  by  the  venturesome  immigi-ant,  till  the  Methodist  preacher, 
blazing  his  way  through  the  almost  unbroken  forest  in  search  of  the  lost 
sheep  of  Israel,  has  knocked  at  his  door  and  shared  the  hospitality  of  his 
home. 

Literally  was  this  true  with  regard  to  the  present  site  and  adjacent 
vicinity  of  Lawrenceburgh.  When  but  few  trees  had  yet  been  felled, 
and  few  cabins  reared,  when  there  was  no  nucleus  of  a  town  here,  per- 
haps even  before  Jabez  Percival,  Hamilton,  and  Oapt.  Vance  had  erected 
their  log-houses  at  this  place  along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  the  Methodist 
preacher,  with  saddle  bags  and  umbrella  (necessary  companions  of  the 
early  pioneer  ministers),  visited  this  place,  collected  the  widely  scattered 
settlers  to  a  private  house,  broke  to  them  the  bread  of  life,  aud  organ- 
ized the  believers  into  a  society. 

As  early  as  the  year  1802,  the  present  site  and  adjacent  vicinity  of 
Lawrenceburgh,  being  included  in  what  was  known  as  the  Miami  circuit, 
had  the  pastoral  care  of  Elisha  W.  Bowman,  with  quarterly  visitations  of 
William  Burk,  a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  as  presiding  elder,  who  served 
in  this  capacity  for  the  disciplinary  limit  of  four  years.  During  the  years 
1802  and  1803,  while  Mr.  Hamilton,  Jabez  Percival  and  Capt. 
Vance  were  building  their  rude  dwellings  and  searching  through  the  cat- 
alogue of  cities  to  find  a  name  for  the  coming  town — in  which  the  latter 
succeeded,  calling  it  Lawrence,  after  his  wife's  maiden  name — Revs. 
John  Sales  and  Joseph  Oglesby,  having  been  appointed  to  this  circuit, 
were  here  prospecting  as  to  the  probable  future  of  the  town,  and  laying 
down  the  foundation  principles  of  a  spiritual  city.  These  two  heroic 
men  of  precious  memory  were  succeeded  the  following  conference  year, 
which  embraced  a  part  of  1805  and  1806,  by  Revs.  Banjamin  Lakin  and 
Joshua  Riggin.  At  the  close  of  their  term  of  service,  which  during  this 
period  of  the  church  was  practically  limited  to  one  year,  the  name  of  this 
circuit  was  changed  from  Miami  to  Whitewater  Circuit,  and  Thomas 
Heliums  and  Sela  Paine  were  the  preachers,  with  John  Sale  as  presiding 
elder,  who  continued  on  the  district  four  years.  To  these  two  good  men 
succeeded,  in  1807,  Joseph  Williams  and  Hezekiah  Shaw,  who  were  fol- 
lowed, in  1808,  by  Hector  Sanford  and  Moses  Grume;  and  on  the  expira- 
tion of  their  term  of  service,  Samuel  H.  Thomson  and  Thomas  Nelson 
were  appointed  to  the  charge,  and  served  one  conference  year,  it  being 
a  part  of  1809  and  1810. 


266  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

At  this  time  there  seeais  to  have  been  a  general  i-eorganization  of  the 
work.  The  name  of  the  district  was  changed  from  the  Ohio,  by  which 
it  had  been  called  from  the  beginning,  except  the  first  year,  to  the  Miami 
District,  and  Solomon  Langdon,  was  appointed  presiding  elder,  his 
predecessor  retiring  by  limitation  of  office;  and  the  circuit  appears  to 
have  been  so  diminished  in  number  of  appointments  that  one  man  could 
supply  it,  and  accordingly  Moses  Grume  was  reappointed  to  the  circuit 
without  an  assistant,  only  one  year  having  intervened  between  this  and 
his  former  appointments  to  this  work. 

At  the  close  of  his  pastorate,  which  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1811,  the 
name  of  the  circuit  was  again  changed  to  Lawrenceburgh,  and  Walter 
Griffith  appointed  to  it.  He  was  succeeded  by  William  Dixon.  And 
then  again,  Moses  Grume — as  if  he  were  peculiarly  adapted  to  this 
charge — was  reappointed  to  the  circuit,  with  Samuel  Parker  as  presid- 
ing elder.  In  the  fall  of  1814,  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Grume's  third  pastor- 
ate, the  eloquent  John  Strange  was  appointed  to  the  circuit,  and  John 
Sale  to  the  district.  These  two  Johns  of  remarkable  talent  were  suc- 
ceeded by  David  Sharpe  as  pastor,  and  Moses  Grume  as  presiding  elder. 

The  next  year  Russell  Bigelow  and  Allen  Wiley  (two  sons  of  thunder, 
whose  names  will  not  soon  be  forgotton),  were  appointed  to  the  circuit, 
and  the  following  year  Allen  Wiley  was  returned  to  the  circuit,  with 
Samuel  West  as  preacher  in  charge,  this  being  the  first  time  in  which  a 
preacher  was  sent  to  this  charge  for  the  second  year.  John  Sale  was  re- 
appointed to  tJie  district  in  place  of  Moses  Grume,  who  retired  in  the 
fall  of  1817,  and  who  appears  no  more  in  the  list  of  appointments  for 
this  section  of  the  church.  Twice  was  he  presiding  elder  on  the  Miami 
District,  and  at  three  different  times  was  he  the  pastor  of  the  Meth- 
odist people  of  this  town  and  vicinity.  The  next  conference  year,  which 
embraced  a  part  of  1818  and  1819,  Benjamin  Lawrence  traveled  the  cir- 
cuit alone,  and  the  following  year  he  was  reappointed,  with  Henry  F. 
Fernandes,  junior  preacher,  John  Sales  continuing  on  the  district. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Methodists  of  Lawrenceburgh  were  unable  to 
own  a  church  building,  and  had  been  obliged  to  hold  their  meetings  at 
first  in  private  dwellings  and  afterward  in  a  log-schoolhouse  that  stood 
on  the  court  house  common.  But  now  that  their  members  and  financial 
ability  had  attained  to  considerable  strength  it  was  proposed  to  build  a 
house  of  worship,  and,  accordingly,  in  the  year  1821  the  now  old  brick 
church  on  Walnut  Street,  still  standing,  was  founded,  built  and  dedicated 
to  the  worship  of  God.  At  ihls  time  the  eloquent  John  P.  Durbin,  now 
ex-missionary  secretary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Ghurch,  and  James 
Gollard  were  the  preachers  on  the  circuit,  and  Walter  Griffith  was  pre- 
siding elder.      This  was  a  time  of  joy  and  gladness  to  the  Methodists  of 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  267 

Lawrenceburgh.  Though  this  house  was  long  since  abandoned  for  a 
more  commodious  one,  to  many  who  are  yet  living  there  are  precious 
memories  clustering  about  this  spot.  Besides  the  blessings  attending 
the  regular  services  of  the  place,  this  church  was  visited  with  many 
extraordinary  "  refreshings  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord."  In  this 
church  was  held  the  memorable  revival  of  John  Newland  Moffatt. 

In  1822  Henry  Baker  having  been  appointed  to  Lawrenceburgh  Cir- 
cuit, of  course  had  charge  of  this  church.  In  1823  the  memorable  Will- 
iam H.  Raper,  of  Ohio,  was  appointed  to  the  charge,  and  in  1824  re- 
appointed, with  John  Jayne  as  junior  preacher,  Alexander  Cummins 
serving  as  presiding  elder  for  these  two  years. 

The  name  of  the  district  was  again  changed  in  the  fall  of  1824,  and 
was  now  called  the  Madison  District,  and  John  Strange  was  appointed 
presiding  elder,  and  James  Jones  and  Thomas  S.  Hitt  to  the  circuit. 
The  following  two  years  James  L.  Thompson  was  the  preacher  in  charge, 
and  George  Ransdell  assistant  for  the  second  year;  and  these  two  were 
succeeded  by  Allen  Wiley  and  Daniel  Newton.  Allen  Wiley  was  now 
placed  upon  the  district,  where  he  remained  four  years,  and  Nehemiah 
B.  Griffith  and  Enoch  G.  Wood  were  appointed,  in  the  fall  of  1828,  to 
the  circuit,  the  latter  of  whom  has  once  since  been  the  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Lawrenceburgh,  and  is  now  (this  centennial  year)  presiding 
elder  of  Moore's  Hill  District,  of  which  a  prominent  appointment  is 
Lawrenceburgh.  How  marvelously  has  the  Lord  preserved  this  veteran 
of  the  cross!  Since  his  first  appointment  to  this  charge  to  the  present 
time — a  period  of  foi'ty-eight  years — he  has  stood  in  the  front  ranks  of 
the  hottest  of  the  battle,  and  still  is  fresh  and  strong,  bidding  fair  for 
years  of  active  service.  In  1829  N.  B.  Griffith  was  appointed  to  the  cir- 
cuit, with  Richard  S.  Robinson,  assistant.  John  W.  McReynolds  and 
Alfred  J.  Arrington  were  next  appointed,  and  their  successors  were  Joseph 
Oglesby  and  John  C.  Smith.  With  this  year  (1832),  Allen  Wiley's 
time  on  this  district  having  expired,  James  Havens,  the  fearless  pioneer  of 
Western  Methodism,  was  appointed  presiding  elder,  and  Joseph  Oglesby 
and  his  colleague  were  returned  to  the  circuit.  After  one  year  we  find 
Allen  Wiley  again  on  the  district,  where  he  remained  three  years;  and 
the  former  pastors  were  succeeded  in  1833  by  William  M.  Daily  and 
John  Daniels,  followed  in  1834  by  C.  M.  Holliday  and  Silas  Rawson, 
and  these  again  in  1835  by  Rodman,  David  Stiver  and  James  V.  Watson. 

In  1836  Enoch  G.  Wood  was  reappointed  to  the  district,  and  James 
Jones  and  William  B.  Ross  to  Lawrenceburgh  Circuit,  and  the  following 
year  Mr.  Jones  was  returned  as  preacher  in  charge,  with  Samuel  T.Gillett 
and  Silas  Rawson,  assistants.  This  was  the  last  year  of  Lawrenceburgh 
Circuit,  Lawrenceburofh  having  been  ir  the  fall  of  1838  constituted  into 


268     _  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

a  separate  and  independent  charge,  and  distinguished  as  Lawrencebnrgh 
Station.  The  first  pastor  under  this  arrangement  was  Joseph  TarJiiugton, 
now  venerable  with  age  but  fresh  and  cheerful  as  in  his  youth.  Brother 
Tarkington  was  succeeded  in  1839  bj^  Mr.  B.  Hibben,  and  in  1840  by 
John  C.  Smith,  and  in  1841  and  1842  by  Samuel  T.  Gillett. 

In  1843  the  name  of  the  district  was  changed  from  Madison  to  Ris- 
ing Sun  District,  and  James  Jones  made  presiding  elder,  and  Rich- 
ard S.  Robinson  pastor  of  Lawrencebnrgh  Station.  He  was  followed  in 
1844  by  James  Hill  and  in  1845  by  A-ugustus  Eddy.  The  district  in 
1846  was  again  called  Lawrenceburgh,  and  Enoch  G.  Wood  was 
appointed  to  it,  and  Mr.  Eddy  was  returned  to  Lawrenceburgh  Church. 
During  the  years  of  1847  and  1848  this  church  was  under  the  pastorate 
of  C.  B.  Davidson.  The  last  two  years  marked  a  neW  epoch  in  the 
Methodism  of  Lawrenceburgh.  Like  the  prophet's  house,  the  old  church 
had  become  "  too  straight "  for  them,  and  the  question  of  a  more  com- 
modious one  was  forced  upon  the  congregation. 

The  present  church  was  built  in  1847,  and  dedicated  the  same  year 
by  Bishop  Hamline,  after  whom  it  was  named.  Its  first  board  of  trustees 
was  composed  of  the  following  persons:  Omer  Tousey,  George  Tousey, 
Levin  B.  Lewis,  Jacob  P.  Dunn,  Edward  Tate,  John  Callahan  and  Will- 
iam S.  Durbin,  and  these  being  transferred  from  the  trusteeship  of  the 
old  church  on  Walnut  Street.  The  board  of  stewards  regularly 
appointed  for  this  church  were  George  Tousey,  John  Callahan,  Wexham 
West,  J.  H.  Brower,  Jacob  P.  Dunn  and  John  Binegar.  The  class  lead- 
ers were  Isaac  Dunn,  William  S.  Durbin,  L.  B.  Lewis,  E.  G.  Brown  and 
George  Tousey.  The  succession  of  pastors  and  presiding  elders  since 
the  erection  of  the  present  church  is  as  follows:  In  the  fall  of  1849, 
Thomas  H.  Rucker  was  made  pastor  of  Hamline  Chapel,  and  John  A. 
Brouse,  presiding  elder.  Mr.  Rucker  was  succeeded  the  next  two  years 
by  F.  C.  Holliday,  who  is  still  in  the  effective  work.  In  1852  the  latter 
was  appointed  to  the  district,  and  James  Crawford  to  Lawrenceburgh 
Station,  who  was  returned  for  the  second  year.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Hiram  Gilmore  in  1854,  and  he  in  1855  and  1856  by  Enoch  G.  Wood; 
Giles  C.  Smith  being  made  presiding  elder  at  the  last  date  mentioned, 
Enoch  G.  Wood  was  succeeded  in  1857  and  1858  by  Elijah  D.  Long. 
During  these  two  years  under  the  ministry  of  Brother  Long,  the  church 
was  blessed  with  an  almost  unbroken  revival,  of  which  much  fruit 
remains  at  the  present  day.  For  true  piety  and  devotion  to  the  work  of 
saving  souls  the  church  is  seldom  blessed  with  the  equal  of  Brother 
Long.  His  memory  is  precious.  Thomas  H.  Lynch  was  appointed  to 
the  district  in  1859,  and  Francis  A.  Hester  to  the  Lawrenceburgh  Sta- 
tion, and  the  following   year  Elijah  D.  Long  was  appointed  to  the  dis- 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  269 

trict,  and  F.  A.  Hester  was  returned  to  this  charge.  During  the  years 
1861-62  the  church  had  the  pastoral  care  of  John  S.  Tevis,  and  Sampson 
Tincher  was  appointed  to  the  district  in  the  last  year  mentioned.  In 
1863  and  1864  William  C.  Ransdell  was  appointed  to  Hamline  Chapel; 
and  it  will  be  remembered  that  this  was  the  last  charge  upon  earth  for 
this  young  and  promising  minister  of  the  gospel,  for  the  Great  Bishop, 
that  is  above  all  bishops  had  appointed  him  to  a  higher  service.  Though 
this  beloved  pastor  died  in  the  early  part,  of  his  second  year,  it  may  be 
said  to  the  credit  of  the  church  they  continued  to  pay  his  salary  in  full 
for  the  rest  of  the  year,  and  meanwhile  employed  the  ministerial  services 
of  John  Lewis  to  fill  out  his  unexpired  term.  Francis  A.  Hester  was  again 
appointed  to  this  charge  in  1865,  and  in  1866  reappointed,  with  Fer- 
nandez C.  Holliday,  presiding  elder.  Brother  Hester  was  succeeded  the 
following  two  years  by  John  G.  Chafee;    James  Lathrop  on  the  district. 

During  the  last  year  of  Mr.  Chafee's  pastorate  the  present  parson- 
age property  on  High  Street  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $2,500.  The 
raising  of  this  money  was  mostly  due  to  the  ladies  of  the  church,  to 
whom,  ever  since,  has  been  committed  the  necessary  repairs  and  general 
oversight  of  the  parsonage.  George  P.  Jenkins  was  appointed  at  Law- 
renceburgh  Station  in  1869,  and  was  reappointed  in  1870  and  in 
1871.  This  was  the  first  instance  since  'the  extension  of  the  pastoral 
term  to  three  years  in  which  any  minister  had  been  returned  to  this 
charge  for  the  third  year.  During  the  last  date  F.  C.  Holliday  was 
presiding  elder  of  the  district.  To  Mr.  Jenkins  the  church  of  Lawrence- 
burgh  is  indebted  for  the  valuable  historical  matters  which  he  has  writ- 
ten up  and  neatly  recorded  in  the  church  record,  and  without  which  the 
present  history  could  scarcely  have  be'en  written.  This  cost  him 
no  inconsiderable  amount  of  time  and  labor,  for  which  the  church  owes 
him  a  debt  of  gratitude.  In  the  fall  of  1872,  R.  D.  Robinson  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  presiding  eldership  of  the  district,  and  Sampson  Tincher 
was  appointed  to  the  Lawrenceburgh  Station,  and  by  reappointment  was 
continued  in  the  charge  for  three  years.  These  were  three  years  of  gen- 
eral quiet  in  the  church,  but  nothing  of  very  special  interest  is  recorded. 
In  1878  the  venerable  Enoch  G.  Wood  was  appointed  to  the  Moore's 
Hill  District,  as  it  is  now  called,  and  reappointed  in  1874-75;  and  in 
the  last  year  S.  S.  McMahan  was  appointed  to  the  pastorate  of  Lawrence- 
burgh Station. 

Thus  we  have  traced  the  ministerial  appointments  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  Lawrenceburgh  and  vicinity,  including  the  general 
history  of  its  progress  through  a  period  of  seventy-five  years — from  the 
beginning  to  the  present  centenial  year.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
Methodist  Church  of  this  place  has  been  blessed  with  the  varied  minis- 


270  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

try  of  very  able  men,  some  of  whom  were  or  have  become  representative 
men  of  the  denomination.  During  the  long  period  of  seventy  years, 
with  slight  exception,  the  church  has  not  been  called  to  suffer  from  the 
defection  of  any  of  its  pastors;  neither  for  the  same  length  of  time  have 
they  suffered  the  loss  of  but  one — William  G.  Ransdell — by  death  while 
serving  them.  This  we  think  worthy  of  recording  as  matter  of  gratitude 
to  God  who  preserveth  the  integrity  of  his  workmen  and  in  whose  sight 
their  lives  have  been  precious. 

Precisely  what  iniliience  this  individual  church  has  had  on  the  sev- 
eral generations  of  the  people  of  the  city  and  vicinity  since  its  organi- 
tion,  and  on  the  Methodism  of  the  State,  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to 
say;  but  we  may  fairly  presume  that  it  has  been  very  considerable. 
Many  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  have  been  converted  to  God  at  its 
altars,  and  many  of  these  have  been  men  of  mark,  not  only  as  examples 
of  strong  religious  character  and  workmen  in  the  church,  but  in  business 
circles  as  well.  Some  of  them  have  gone  out  over  the  State  and  influenced 
Methodism  abroad,  not  a  few  of  them  being  enrolled  in  the  Methodist 
Churches  of  Indianapolis.  A  few — and  we  are  sorry  to  say  so  few — 
have  gone  out  from  this  church  into  the  ministry.  HoseaDurbin,  whose 
ministry  was  short,  and  perhaps  two  brothei's  Mulfinger,  are  all  that  can 
be  remembered.  While  many  who  have  been  converted  in  this  church 
have  not  kept  the  faith,  the  great  body  of  the  membership  have  lived  to 
adorn  Christian  religion,  and  have  died  in  the  very  gateways  of  Heaven. 
Among  the  deceased  standard  bearers  of  the  church  who  are  still  fresh 
in  the  memories  of  the  living  may  be  mentioned  Omer  Tousey,  Judge 
Dunn,  James  Thomson,  George  Sheldon,  William  Brown,  Ellis  Brown, 
Benjamin  Stockman,  Hamlet  Sf)arks,  Oliver  Tousey,  James  Jones,  D.  S. 
Major,  Dr.  William  Tate,  and  many  others  whose  names  will  long  be 
cherished  for  their  exemplary  lives  and  devotion  to  the  church.  And 
here  it  would  be\injust  to  omit  reference  to  another  large  class  of  per- 
sons to  whom  the  church  in  Lawrenceburgh  has  been  at  all  times  deeply 
indebted  for  both  its  temporal  and  spiritual  prosperity.  We  refer  to  those 
women  who  labored  in  the  gospel,  elect  ladies  who  have  been  ready  to 
second  and  carry  forward  every  good  work.  Many  of  this  class  whose 
lives  were  eminently  useful  to  the  church  on  earth,  are  now  serving  in  the 
heavenly  mansions;  but  there  still  remains  a  goodly  number  on  whom 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord  rests,  and  who  have  a  mind  to  work. 

Though  the  Lawrenceburgh  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  still  main- 
tains its  spirituality,  it  is  at  the  present  time,  owing  to  the  very  large 
emigx'ation  of  the  English  speaking  population  from  this  place,  neither 
so  strong  financially  nor  nvimerically  as  formerly,  still  it  has  a  fair  mem- 
bership and  congregation,  and  possesses  financial  ability  equal  to  all  its 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  271 

necessities.  As  to  the  value  of  the  Methodist  Church  property  in  Law- 
renceburgh,  the  substantial  church  building  on  the  corner  of  High  and 
Vine  Streets  is  estimated  at  |12,000;  and  the  parsonage  on  High  Street 
— a  very  good  and  commodious  house — is  estimated  at  $2,000.  Upon 
the  whole  perhaps  no  individual  church  in  the  State  has  enjoyed  more 
continued  peace  and  prosperity,  and  exerted  a  deeper  and  wider  influence 
upon  Christianity  than  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Lawrence- 
burgh. 

The  Regular  Baptist  Church  of  Lawrencebwgh. — The  con- 
stitution of  this  church  is  said  to  have  taken  place  in  1807.  In  the 
absence  of  records  only  a  brief  sketch  of  it  can  be  given.  Dr.  Ezra 
Ferris  located  in  the  village  in  1804.  He  was  a  young  married  man  of 
quite  a  liberal  education  for  that  time,  and  had  been  identified  with  the 
Old  Duck  Creek  Baptist  Church  in  Hamilton  County,  Ohio, where  he  had, 
as  was  generally  termed,  "exercised  his  gifts"  in  speaking.  He  was 
zealous  in  the  sect  of  religion  he  espoused,  and  was  instrumental  in  the 
organization  into  a  church  the  several  families  in  and  about  Lawrence- 
burgh  of  the  same  denomination,  among  whom  were  several  of  the 
Blasdells,  who  resided  on  Tanner's  Creek,  Timothy  Davis,  Charles 
Brasher,  and  the  Ferrises  at  Lawrenceburgh,  Henry  Hardin  and  wife,  Ja- 
cob Froman  and  wife,  of  Hardinsburgh,  and  a  Mrs.  Bonham,  from  near 
Elizabethtown.  These  may  not  all  have  been  members  at  the  time  of  the 
constitution  of  the  church,  but  all  were  early  and  active  members. 
Thomas  Townsend  and  wife,  and  a  Mr.  Foster  were  also  early  members. 
Services  were  held  at  private  residences  at  the  various  localities  named 
until  about  1830,  when  Lawrenceburgh  became  the  settled  place  for 
holding  services.  That  year  the  Presbyterian  denomination  completed 
their  church,  toward  the  building  of  which  the  Baptists  contributed 
$300,  and  were  to  have  the  use  of  the  building  alternately  or  when  the 
Presbyterians  were  not  using  it.  Subsequently  the  appropriation  was 
refunded,  and  the  use  of  the  church  by  the  denomination  under  consid- 
eration was  discontinued.  In  1845  the  little  brick  house  of  worship  lo- 
cated on  Center  Street  was  erected.  From  the  beginning  up  to  the  time 
of  Dr.  Ferris'  death  in  ]  857,  he  was  regarded  as  the  senior  pastor  of 
the  church  and  also  frequently  preached  elsewhere  in  the  county.  Elder 
Mathews  and  William  Steele  from  Kentucky  were  for  a  period  assistant 
pastors  to  the  Doctor.  The  venerable  Dr.  Bond  occasionally  officiated 
prior  to  1840,  and  in  the  latter  year  was  made  assistant  pastor,  and  for 
the  succeeding  decade  occupied  the  pulpit  for  about  one-half  of  the 
time.  From  1850  to  1857  he  was  away  from  the  city,  and  in  1857,  on 
the  death  of  Dr.  Ferris,  he  became  pastor  of  the  church  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  since  which  time  the  following  named  minis- 


272  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

ters  have  occupied  the  pulpit:  Dr.  Bond  (occasionally),  Degarmore, 
Meeks,  Clancy,  Earl,  Hamline,  Swaim,  Loving,  and  Tinker.  The  mem- 
bership of  the  church  is  now  about  seventy. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lawrenceburgh  was  organized 
September  27,  1829,  by  Rev.  Sylvester  Scoville,  with  the  following  mem- 
bership: Duncan  Carmichael,  Catherine  Carmichael,  William  Archibald, 
Betsey  Archibald,  Jacob  Piatt,  Mrs.  Ann  Runyan,  Miss  Margaret  John- 
son, Mrs.  Jane  E.  Sparks,  Mrs.  Sarah  Darragh,  Mrs.  Catherine  L. 
Pinckard,  Mrs.  Jane  Clark  Hageman,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Hamilton,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Rice,  the  first  nine  being  received  on  letter  from  other 
churches,  the  remaining  four  on  profession  of  their  faith.  The  church 
was  reported  to  the  Presbytery  of  Oxford,  Ohio,  and  received  under  their 
care  October  2,  1829.  The  board  of  trustees  was  composed  of  Duncan 
Carmichael,  William  B.  Ewing,  William  Archibald,  George  H.  Dunn  and 
Stephen  Ludlow.  In  tlje  early  existence  of  the  society,  it  had  no  church 
building.  Sometimes  the  congregation  met  at  the  court  house,  some- 
times the  doors  of  the  old  Methodist  Chapel  on  Walnut  Street  were 
opened  to  them.  Another  preaching  place  for  this  denomination  was  in  a 
building  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Short  Streets.  During  the  pastorate 
of  Mr,  Scoville  a  church  building  was  erected  on  the  southwest  side  of 
Short  Street  between  William  and  Center,  which  was  completed  in  1830. 
The  Baptist  congregation  furnished  a  portion  of  the  money  ($300),  to- 
ward its  building,  for  which  they  had  certain  rights  and  privileges — 
the  venerable  Dr.  Ferris  occupying  the  pulpit  one-half  of  the  time,  or 
when  the  Presbyterians  did  not  use  it.  Subsequently  the  appropriation, 
made  by  the  Baptists  was  refunded  and  their  use  of  the  building  was 
discontinued.  September  26,  1838,  the  church  resolved  to  be  an  inde- 
pendent Presbyterian  Church  and  remained  disconnected  with  any  Pres- 
bytery until  in  1841,  when  for  a  time  it  was  in  the  Presbytery  of  Madi- 
son (New  School).  It  was  again  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of 
Oxford,  Ohio  (Old  School).  Subsequently  the  Presbytery  of  White 
Water  was  formed,  with  which  it  was  placed.  In  1846  a  parsonage  was 
provided  for  the  pastor.  The  following  named  ministers,  and  in  the 
order  given,  have  been  pastors  of  the  church:  Sylvester  Scoville,  1829  to 
February,  1832  (died  in  1849);  Alexander  McFarlans,  November,  1832, 
one  year  (died  in  1838);  Charles  Sturdevent,  October,  1834,  one  year 
and  a  half;  Henry  Ward  Beech er.  May,  1837,  two  and  a  quarter  years; 
J.  A.  Tiffany,  December  26,  1839,  one  year;  W.  A.  Smith,  January  1, 
1841,  to  May  24,  1848;  W.  H.  Moore,  July  1,  1849,  one  year;  S.  S. 
Potter,  November,  1850,  a  number  of  years;  Geoi*ge  I.  Taylor,  Augustus 
Taylor,  Joshua  R.  Mitchell,  Charles  H.  Little,  Samuel  N.  Wilson  (up- 
ward of  ten  years)  and  Mr.    Thomas,   the  present  incumbent.     On  the 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  273 

site  of  the  old  church  on  Short  Street  stands  a  beautiful  brick  edifice, 
which  is  ornamental  and  beautiful  in  style  of  architecture,  and  elegantly 
furnished  within,  erected  in  1882  and  dedicated  September  24,  1883, 
with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Dr.  Heckman,  the  Rev.  Charles  Little  ofiSciating 
in  the  evening.     The  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $10,768. 

The  following  article  appeared  in  the  New  York  World  of  May  22, 
1882  : 

"Mr.  Beecher  baptized  nineteen  babies  yesterday  morning,  the  little 
Christians  behaving,  with  few  exceptions,  most  admirably.  In  asking 
for  a  collection  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lawrenceburgh,  Ind.,  he 
said  that  it  was  the  church  over  which  he  was  first  settled  as  pastor. 
'When  I  was  twenty-three  years  old,'  said  Mr.  Beecher,  'I  went  forth 
knowing  but  very  little,  and  having  no  grace  of  that  knowledge  except 
that  I  knew  I  knew  very  little.  My  first  stop  was  across  the  Ohio  River, 
opposite  Cincinnati,  where  a  hall  had  been  opened  with  a  view  of  forming 
a  New  School  Presbyterian  Church,  for  I  was  then  a  Presbyterian,  and 
am  still  in  everything  except  their  Confession  of  Faith.  I  began  to 
preach  there,  however,  and  after  preaching  about  a  half-dozen  Sundays 
I  was  visited  by  a  young  woman  about  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  years 
old,  named  Martha  Sawyer  (that's  not  her  name  now,  so  you  won't  know 
who  it  is),  and  I  was  invited  to  take  charge  of  another  church  at  Law- 
renceburgh, Ind.  She  was,  I  believe,  trusteee,  deacon  and  treasurer  of 
the  church;  at  any  rate  they  had  no  other.  She  collected  all  the  money 
that  was  collected  and  they  paid  me  about  $150  a  year  and  the  American 
Missionary  Society  made  up  the  rest,  [so  that  I  had  the  munificent  salary 
of  $450  a  year.  There  I  began  my  ministerial  and  pastoral  life.  There 
was  but  one  man  in  the  church,  and  that  was  one  too  many.  However, 
here  I  began  to  learn.  I  don't  know  how,  but  here  I  learned  for  two 
years  and  a  little  more,  and  then  I  was  called  to  Indianapolis,  where  I 
was  for  the  two  years  preceding  the  time  of  my  coming  here.  That  lit- 
tle brick  church  which  would  seat  100  or  150  persons  was  where  I 
preached  my  earliest  sermons.  When  we  had  a  communion  I  had  to 
go  out  and  borrow  a  deacon  and  elder.  That  church  remains.  A  photo- 
graph has  been  taken  of  it  and  has  been  sent  to  me.  I  recognize  every 
brick  in  it.  I  was  sexton  of  it  as  well  as  pastor.  I  swept  it  twice  a 
week;  got  lamps  from  the  adjoining  town  and  hung  them  upon  the  walls, 
and  bought  oil  and  filled  and  trimmed  them,  and  kept  them  trimmed;  for 
previous  to  that  there  had  been  no  evening  service.  The  church  has 
existed  ever  since,  with  various  degrees  of  prosperity,  but  now  they  have 
undertaken  to  baild  for  themselves  a  new  church  and  I  come  to  ask  you 
what  you  are  going  to  do  to  help  them.'  The  baskets  were  passed  and 
returned  well  filled." 


274  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUNTIES. 

The    St.   Lawrence    Roman    Catholic    Church   of    Laivrenceburgh. — 
The    first    Roman    Catholic     congregation,     of     Lawrenceburgh,    was 
oro-anized  in  the  year  18-40^  consisting  of  about  fifteen  families,  among 
which  the  following  names  take  precedence,  viz. :     George  Huschart,  Peter 
Werst,  John   Kimmel,  Jacob  Meier,  Lewis  Crusart,  Anthony  Schwartz 
and   Michael   Long.     At  this   time   divine    services    were    held    in   a 
house  in  Newtown,  belonging  to  Jesse  Hunt,  and  occupied  by  a  Catholic 
family;  about  a  year  later  in  the  house  of  George  Huschart,  and  at  times, 
also,  in  the  bouse  of  Michael  Lang.     The  corner-stone  of  the  first  Catho- 
lic Church  was  laid^on  Walnut  Street  in  184:L      The  church  was  built  of 
rock,  40x60  feet  in  length,  but  was  not  completed  until    1847,    when   it 
was   dedicated.     During    these    years  Lawrenceburgh  was  attended  by 
priests  from  the  neighboring  congregations,  the  first  of  whom  was  Eev. 
Joseph  Ferneding,  who  attended  but  a  short  time;  it  was  next  visited  by 
Rev.  F.  O'Eourke,  and  after  him  by  Rev.  A.  Bennett  till   1851,  also  by 
Rev.  M.  Stahl  and  Rev.  A.  Carius.     In  1851  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  M.  De 
St.  Palais,  D.  D.,  of  Vincennes,   gave   it  in   charge   of   the  Franciscan 
Fathers   of  the    St.  John's    Church,   Cincinnati.     Rev.   G.  Unterthiner, 
Sigismund  and  Anselm  Koch,  O.  S.  F.,  who  attended  till  the  year  1859, 
when  it  was  transferred  to  the  charge  of  Rev.  Ig.  Klein,  resident  pastor 
of  St.  Nicholas  (Pipe  Creek),  who  regularly  attended  till  the  year  1866, 
when  by  the  appointment  of  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop,    Rev.    Clement 
Sheve  became  the  first  resident  pastor  of  the  place.     Owing  to  the  increase 
of  Catholic  population.  Father  Sheve  saw  that  a  more  spacious  edifice  was 
required,  and  the  present  beautiful  church  of  St.  Lawrence,  50x115  feet, 
erected  on  Walnut  Street,  near  the  place  of  the  old  church,  is  the  result 
of  his  ministry,  and  the  fruit  of  his  zeal  and  labors;  he  also  built  a  fine 
residency    for  the  pastor,  and  a  large  schoolhouse.      Compelled    by    loss 
of  health,  he  resigned  in  1870  and   left  for  Minnesota,  where  he  died  in 
the  spring  of  1875.     Rev.  C.  Sheve  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  J.  Dudden- 
hausen,  who  remained  until  May  15,  1875,   when  he  was  transferred  to 
Trinity  Church,  Evansville,  Ind.,  and  with  sincere  feelings  of  regret  his 
parishioners   saw    him    depart  for  his  new  scene  of  labor.     He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  J.  F.  Souderman,  the  present  incumbent.     In  connection 
with  the  church  are  also  several  church  societies.     The  membership  of 
the    ladies'    society  is  205,  and  that  of  St.  Lawrence  Roman  Catholic 
Benevolent    Society,    125.     The   parochial    school    is  in  charge  of    the 
sisters  of  St.  Francis;  the  number  of  children  in  attendance  is  about  200, 
and  the  number  of  teachers,  five. 

The  German  Evangelical  Zion  Church  of  Laivrenceburgh  was  first 
constituted  October  3,  1847,  under  the  name  of  German  Evangelical  Re- 
formed Church   of   Lawrenceburgh,  belonging  to  the   Evangelical   Re- 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  275 

formed  Synod  of  the  United  States.  The  constitution  was  signed  by  five 
trustees,  to-wit:  Johann  David  Hauck,  George  Ross,  Johann  Reimer, 
Lorenz  Winter  and  Johann  Siemantel.  The  small  congregation  held  its 
meetings  at  first  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  on  Short  Street,  in  1848. 
The  members  built  a  brick  church  on  Walnut  Street,  54x28.  The  upper 
part  of  it  was  consecrated  for  divine  service,  and  the  basement  was  used 
as  a  day  school  and  parsonage.  In  1862  a  new  constitution  was  voted. 
In  1867  the  congregation  dissolved  its  connection  with  the  Evangelical 
Reformed  Synod,  and  changed  the  name  to  German  Evangelical  Zion 
Congregation  of  Lawrenceburgh,  In  1867  a  new  and  larger  brick  build- 
ing, 75x42  feet,  was  erected.  A  steeple  was  raised  100  feet  high,  and  a 
bell  hung  in  it.  While  the  foundation  was  being  laid,  a  number  of  the 
members  left  the  congregation,  and  established  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  at  Newtown.  November  24,  1867,  the  building  was  ready  to  be 
consecrated,  and  was  named  Evangelical  Zion  Church.  In  the  same 
year  a  parsonage  was  built  by  the  side  of  the  new  and  in  front  of  the 
old  church,  which  was  fitted  up  for  a  school-room  and  for  weekly  meet- 
ings. All  these  buildings,  costing  about  $14,000,  are  still  used  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  congregation  consists  at  present  of  72  families. 
Ever  since  the  formation,  the  congregation  generally  had  its  own  German 
day  school,  which  now  numbers  110  scholars.  The  Sunday-school  was 
established  in  1851,  by  Rev.  Friedel  and  Mr.  Johann  David  Hauck,  and 
numbers  at  present  160  scholars  and  20  teachers.  Associations  in  con- 
nection with  the  church  are:  An  association  of  the  ladies,  established 
in  1858  with  63  members,  numbers  at  present  81;  the  singing  choir, 
established  in  1867  with  19  members,  now  numbers  45;  an  association 
of  men  for  church  building,  in  1867,  with  21  members,  now  numbers 
39;  an  association  of  young  ladies,  established  in  1867  with  21  members, 
numbers  at  present  27;  an  association  of  young  men,  established  in  1871 
with  11  members,  now  numbers  14;  a  sick  aid  society,  established  in 
1862,  which  at  present  numbers  only  14  members.  The  names  of  the 
pastors  of  the  congregation  since  1847  are  Revs.  P.  B.  Madonlet,  1847-50; 
A.  H.  Friedel,  1850-51;  H.  Straeter,  1851-52;  A.  Carrol,  1852-53;  Casp. 
Pluess,  1854-59;  H.  Lienstaedt,  1859-62;  C.  Betz,  1862-71;  C.  F. 
Warth,  1871  to  the  present  time. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  John's  Chtwch  of  Neiv  Laivrenceburgh. 
— Until  1867  this  religious  body  formed  a  part  of  the  society  now 
known  as  the  German  Evangelical  Zion  Church  of  the  city  whose  history 
is  given  above.  At  this  time  a  number  of  the  members  withdrew  and 
established  the  congregation  under  consideration.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  John's  Church  was  laid  in  the  year  1867, 
and  finished  in  1869.     The  church  is  a  brick  building,  40x80  feet,  has  a 


276  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

stone  basement,  and  a  tower  120  feet  high,  and  cost  upward  of  $16,000, 
of  which  sum  an  outside  debt  remains.  The  building  is  located  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Fourth  Streets.  The  church  has  a  membership  of 
34  families,  a  Sunday  school  with  70  children,  a  singing  choir,  with  24 
members,  a  day  school  with  34  children  at  present.  Its  pastor,  Thomas 
H.  Jaeger,  who  has  served  the  congregation  since  October,  1875,  is  a 
member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Ohio  and  other  States. 

The  German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Laiorenceburgh  had  its 
origin  in  this  wise:  April  11,  1839,  Rev.  Adam  Miller,  pastor  of  Race 
Street  Church,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  preached  to  a  congregation  in  Law- 
renceburgh,  for  the  first  time,  and,  on  the  following  months'  services  were 
held  every  two  weeks,  by  Rev.  Dr.  W.  Nast,  who,  June  16  of  that  year, 
ordained  a  class  of  10  members,  which  was  increased  to  20  members 
in  the  following  two  weeks.  Of  this  class  J.  M.  Hofer  was  appoint- 
ed  leader.  Shortly  after  this  a  Sabbath-school  of  from  20  to  30 
members  was  organized  with  8  teachers.  Services  were  held  for  a 
time,  until  a  church  building  was  erected,  in  private  houses,  frequently 
in  the  dwelling  of  J.  M.  Mul finger.  In  1842  the  first  house  of  worship 
was  built,  located  on  Market  Street.  In  1860  the  present  church  edifice, 
a  substantial  and  commodious  brick,  located  on  Center  Street  near  Wal- 
nut, was  erected,  which  is  valued  at  $8,000.  At  first  this  charge  was 
connected  with  a  circuit  over  which  presided  Rev.  Juhn  Kisling,  preach- 
er in  charge.  The  first  quarterly  conference  was  held  in  1843,  by  Rev. 
C.  W.  Ruter,  presiding  elder.  In  1845  the  Lawrenceburgh  charge  be- 
came a  station,  having  then  a  membership  of  40.  The  following 
named  ministers  have  been  pastors  of  the  church:  John  Kisling,  G.\A. 
Brennig,  John  Zwahlen,  C.  Wyttenbach,  John  Phetzing,  John  Geyer, 
L.  Heiss,  John  Bier,  Jacob  Rothweiler,  Adolph  Kartter,  F.  Schroeck, 
C.  Dierking,  John  Kisling,  J.  H.  Koch,  C.  Schelper,  F.  Miller,  L.  C. 
Lurker,  A.  Gerlach,  C.  Helwig,  J.  C.  Wurster,  J.  Scheveinfurth,  C. 
Bertram,  D.  Volz,  John  Phetzing. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Lawrenceburgh. — In  the  spring  of  1876  the 
Christian  Church  of  Lawrenceburgh  was  organized  by  Rev.  A.  Elmore, 
the  outgrowth  of  an  extensive  revival  at  which  upward  of  100  were 
taken  into  membership.  The  first  officers  of  the  church  were  J.  R.Trisler, 
James  D.  Willis,  elders;  Spencer  West,  Christopher  Dailey,  George 
Morris  and  Boone  Rice,  deacons.  A  call  was  extended  to  Mr.  Elmore 
to  become  the  pastor  of  the  church,  which  was  accepted. 

On  the  corner  of  Elm  and  Center  Streets  is  located  a  beautiful  and 
substantial  brick  church  edifice,  the  property  of  this  society,  which  was 
completed  and  dedicated  August  7,  1884,  the  sermon  being  preached  by 
elder  F.  D.  Power  of  Washington,  D.  C. 


\/ 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBUllGH.  277 

Trinity  (Protestant)  Episcopal  Church  of  Laivrenceburgh. — 
Services  of  the  church  were  first  held  in  Lawrenceburgh  on  the  feast  of 
Epiphany,  January  6,  1840,  when  the  Trinity  parish  was  duly  organ- 
ized with  but  three  commuaicants  and  but  few  others  who  knew  any- 
thing about  the  church.  The  first  rector  of  the  parish  was  the  Rev.  T. 
C.  Pitkin,  who  served  one  year  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles 
Prindle,  who  died  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  his  rectorship.  About 
this  time  the  most  active  layman  of  the  little  band  died,  and  two  others 
removed  from  the  city,  which  caused  a  suspension  of  services  until  in 
the  fall  of  1844,  when  services  were  resumed  under  the  rectorship  of  Rev. 
A.  C.  Treadway.  Services  were  continued  at  different  intervals  until 
June,  1856,  when  the  last  service  by  a  clergyman  of  the  church,  of 
which  we  have  any  account,  was  held.  The  present  modest  little  brick 
church^edifice  on  Walnut  Street  was  erected  and  consecrated  to  the  serv- 
ice 'of  God  in  1854.  Of  the  rectors  serving  the  parish  from  the 
time'Rev.  Mr.  Treadway  severed  his  connection  with  it  until  1856,  the 
records  do  not  definitely  treat,  but  among  those  officiating  at  baptisms 
were  Revs.  T.  B.  Fairchild,  John  Trimble  and  E.  C.  Pattison.  In  1874 
services  were  again  resumed  by  Rev.  William  H.  Troop,  who  was  sent  a 
missionary  to  the  cities  of  Lawrenceburgh  and  Aurora.  The  meetings  of 
the  parish  at  Lawrenceburgh  were  for  a  time  held  in  the  court  house,  the 
church  building  having  been  occupied  as  a  place  of  business.  The 
church  was  restored,  and  the  first  service  held  in  it  was  on  the  sixteenth 
Sunday  after  Trinity — September  20,  1874 — since  which  time  services 
have  been  continued  and  conducted  by  the  following  named  rectors,  who 
have  had  charge  of  the  two  parishes:  Revs.  William  H.  Troop,  1874-75; 
Thomas  W.  McLean,  1875  to  1878;  Curtis  P.  Jones,  Thomas  K.  Cole- 
man, Benjamin  T.  Hall,  David  B.  Ramsey,  the  latter  (present  rector) 
taking  charge  July  15,  1884. 


The  first  schoolhouse  of  the  village  was  erected  on  the  public  or 
court  house  square  very  early  in  its  history.  It  was  a  log-building  and 
the  first  teachers  in  it  were  the  Rev.  Samuel  Baldridge  (a  Presbyterian 
minister,  who  was  residing  at  Lawrenceburgh,  and  who  from  1810  to 
1814  worked  as  an  itinerant  missionary  in  the  Whitewater  Valley),  and  a 
Mr.  Fulton.  In  1808,  Mrs.  Mary  Lane,  the  wife  of  Hon.  Amos  Lane,  a 
woman  of  high  culture  and  refinement,  kept  a  school  in  Kentucky  nearly 
opposite  Lawrenceburgh.  In  1809  the  Lane  family  moved  to  what  was 
called  Tousytown  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river,  just  opposite  the 
city.  At  this  point  she  opened  a  school,  which  increased  to  seventy 
scholars,  being  patronized  by  the  people  of  the  surrounding  country.   In 


2  ( 8  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

1814  the  Lane  family  settled  in  Lawrenceburgh,  and  Mrs  Lane  for  a 
short  time  only  taught  in  the  log-building  above  mentioned.  In 
1813,  Zenas  Hill  is  remembered  as  the  school  teacher  of  the  village. 
The  late  Henry  James,  of  Rising  Sun,  whose  father  settled  at  Lawrence- 
burgh in  1808,  said:  "  We  remained  there  about  two  years,  ditring 
which  time  I  attended  school,  which  was  taught  by  Dr.  Ferris,  an  Irish- 
man. He  was  an  excellent  teacher,  and  was  afterward  engaged  to  teach 
in  Rising  Sun.  Under  his  instruction  my  brothers  and  I  studied  Latin 
and  Gi'eek. "  School  was  kept  for  a  time  in  an  old  frame  building  that 
stood  on  High  Street,  between  Mary  and  Vine,  nearly  opposite  the 
Stevenson  House;  also  in  another  house  on  the  same  side  of  High  Street 
just  below  AValnut.  Samuel  H.  Dowden,  a  Virginian  of  intelligence. 
and  a  Mrs.  Stevenson,  who  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  Tou- 
sey,  are  remembered  as  early  teachers.  The  first  schoolhouse  erected  in 
New  Lawrenceburgh  was  built  prior  to  1820,  and  stood  on  the  same  lot 
on  which  the  present  one  is  located.  After  the  completion  of  the  old 
Presbyterian  Church  in  1830,  that  stood  on  Short  Street,  the  basement 
story  was  a  favorite  place  for  holding  school.  In  1833,  what  was  termed 
through  the  newspapers  as  the  "Lawrenceburgh  High  School,"  was 
opened  by  Z.  Casterline  in  this  house  of  worship. 

In  1841,  the  school  trustees  advertised  in  the  city  papers  that  the  free 
school  of  District  No.  Nine  (including  all  that  part  of  the  township  lying 
east  of  Gray's  Alley)  would  be  open  May  10.  The  school  under  the  charge 
of  Mr.  Bundy  was  to  be  kept  in  a  room  in  Ferris'  row  on  High  Street, 
and  that  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  C.  Morehouse,  in  the  basement  story  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  trustees  then  were  J.  H.  Brown,  William 
Brown  and  John  P.  Dunn. 

In  1851  there  were  two  high  schools  in  the  city,  namely:  the 'Law- 
renceburgh Academy,  established  by  J.  M.  Rail,  assisted  by  Miss  Parme- 
lia  Fahr,  and  the  Lawrenceburgh  Institute,  established  under  the  super- 
vision of  trustees,  with  Edward  Cooper,  A.  M.,  principal.  In  addition  to 
these  there  were  in  the  city  a  select  school  held  in  the  basement  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  under  the  direction  of  Miss  and  Mrs.  Potter  ;  a 
middle  district  school  taught  by  Mrs.  Wardell;  the  Newtown  District, 
Elmerdorf  and  District  No.  Ten,  Germantown,  taught  by  John  D.  White; 
there  were  also  two  German  schools  on  Walnut  Street,  one  German 
Catholic  taught  by  John  F.  Herwig,  and  the  other  both  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  taught  by  Jacob  Behmar.  From  1840  to  1856  the  following 
named  were  among  those  who  taught  in  the  basement  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church:  John  M.  Wilson,  Dr.  Potter,  John  D.  White  and  J.  M.Olcott. 

The  following  sketch  of  the  Lawrenceburgh  public  schools  appeared 
in  one  of  the  county  papers  in  1876: 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  279 

"  The  Lawreuceburgh  graded  schools  were  organized  and  established 
the  15th  day  of  November,  1856,  by  Omer  Tousey,  John  Anderegg  and 
Samuel  Morrison,  board  of  school  trustees,  and  Norval  Sparks,  clerk; 
J.  M.  Olcott.  superintendent;  D.  H.  Pennewell,  assistant  superintendent; 
Mrs.  Hubbel,  Mrs.  Brasher,  Miss  Yeatman  and  Miss  Brower,  teachers. 
Number  of  children  attending  public  schools  in  the  city,  250;  number  of 
children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years  in  the  township, 
1,294.  The  high  school  building  was  erected  in  the  year  1859,  by  the 
township  trustee,  Mr.  William  Tate,  and  completed  by  his  successor  in 
office,  Mr.  John  Ferris.  In  the  year  1865,  by  and  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  the  control  and 
management  of  the  city  schools  was  transferred  from  the  township  trus- 
tee to  a  school  board  of  trustees  consisting  of  three  persons,  president, 
secretary  and  treasurer,  to  be  elected  by  the  council  of  the  city  of 
Lawrenceburgh.  The  following  named  persons  have  been  elected  and 
acted  in  that  capacity:  Levin  B.  Lewis,  John  H.  Gaff,  Andrew  A.  Heifer, 
Andrew  J.  Pusey,  William  M.  James,  Noah  S.  Givan  and  John  K. 
Thompson.  The  present  board  is  George  Otto,  president;  Dr.  Charles 
B.  Miller,  treasurer;  Thomas  Kilner,  secretary.  At  no  time  in  the 
history  of  the  schools  have  they  been  in  as  good  condition  financially  as 
at  the  present  time.  At  the  expiration  of  the  present  school  year,  there 
will  remain,  and  unexpended,  the  sum  of  $4,979.84.  It  is  the  desire  of 
the  present  board  of  trustees,  with  the  consent  and  approval  of  the 
patrons  of  the  schools,  to  make  some  radical  changes  therein,  whereby 
they  may  become  more  efficient  and  beneficial.  There  is  annually 
expended  by  the  board  for  school  purposes,  $10,000.  The  school  prop- 
erty consists  of  two  large  brick  buildings;  one  situated  on  the  corner  of 
Short  and  Market  Streets,  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  park  with  fine  play 
ground  for  the  children,  and  the  other  on  the  corner  of  Shipping  and 
Fourth  Streets,  a  building  erected  in  1870 — the  grounds  have  been 
ornamented  during  the  present  year  by  shade  trees.  The  buildings  are 
supplied  with  charts,  globes,  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus, 
skeleton,  etc.,  to  which  additions  are  being  constantly  made,  and  every 
facility  afforded  to  make  the  school  efficient  and  the  equal  of  any  in  the 
State.  The  real  estate  and  buildings  are  valued  at  $30,000;  value  of 
scientific  apparatus,  $550;  value  of  library,  $100.  Corps  of  instructors 
at  the  present  time:  John  R.  Trisler,  superintendent;  William  F.  Gil- 
christ, principal;  Miss  Josie  M.  Brand,  Miss  Sallie  B.  Marsh,  Miss 
Emma  C.  Hauck,  Miss  Emma  L.  Pusey,  Miss  Mary  Hopping,  Miss 
Carrie  H.  Rowe,  Miss  Fannie  Pierce,  Miss  Katie  Ferris,  Miss  Annie  S. 
Hayes,  Miss  Esther  L.  Avery,  teachers;  Mr.  A.  S.  Teutschel  and  F.  J. 
Kalmerten,    German    teachers;    Prof.    Emil    A.    Roehrig,   vocal    music: 


280  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Joseph  White,  janitor;  Margaret  Brown,  janitresg.  The  average  monthly 
salary  of  teachers,  exclusive  of  superintendent,  is  $50.60.  Number  of 
pupils  enrolled  in  the  school,  650;  number  of  children  enumerated  in 
the  city  between  six  arid  twenty-one  years,  1,951." 

In  1883  the  enumeration  of  children  in  the  schools  was  1,749.  Now 
the  Lawrenceburgh  Public  Schools  embrace  five  departments,  viz.:  I,  En- 
glish primary;  II,  English  grammar;  III,  German  primary;  IV,  German 
grammar;  V,  High  School. 

The  English  primary  department  includes  the  first  four  years  of 
school  training.  It  takes  pupils  at  the  beginning,  and  leaves  them  fair 
spellers,  readers  and  writers,  and  gives  them  a  knowledge  of  the  four 
fundamental  principles  of  arithmetic.  In  this  department  lessons  also 
are  given  in  language,  physiology,  geography,  music  and  drawing — thus 
making  it  the  aim  of  this  department  to  thoroughly  prepare  the  pupil  to 
advance  to  the  grammar  department,  and  at  the  same  time  to  furnish  him 
with  that  training  that  will  be  most  useful  in  life,  should  his  training 
end  with  this  department. 

The  English  grammar  department  includes  the  next  four  years  of  the 
course,  or  from  fifth  year  to  the  eighth  inclusive.  Its  object  is  to  receive 
pupils  who  have  completed  the  foregoing  department,  or  its  equivalent, 
and  to  give  them  such  drill  as  shall  make  them  proficient  in  spelling, 
reading,  penmanship,  arithmetic,  geography,  grammar,  physiology. 
United  States  history,  vocal  music,  drawing  and  composition,  and  to  best 
fit  the  pupil  to  enter  the  high  school,  or  to  discontinue  school  life,  if 
compelled  to  do  so. 

The  German  department,  as  created  by  the  liberality  of  the  school 
board,  and  provided  with  the  proper  teachers  in  the  years  from  1878- 
1881,  proved  to  be  a  success.  The  floods  of  1882,  1883  and  1884,  and 
the  subsequent  diminution  of  population,  as  well  as  a  certain  indiffer- 
ence and  shortsightedness  of  a  number  of  parents,  preferring  rather  to 
withdraw  their  children  from  the  advanced  classes  of  this  department 
than  to  let  them  have  the  benefit  of  a  better  education,  caused  the  dis- 
continuance, in  1884,  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  year,  corresponding  with 
the  advanced  classes  of  A  and  B,  grammar  grade.  For  the  benefit  of 
this  department  and  its  further  progress,  the  restoration  of  these  grades 
will  be  essentially  necessary.  Parents  should,  under  no  circumstances, 
allow  children  to  quit  school  until  at  least  the  ninth  school  year  is 
reached,  and  thus  help  to  fill  up  this  grade  again  with  as  many  pupils 
as  are  necessary  to  justify  the  board  in  sustaining  and  paying  another 
teacher.  The  departments  comprise  as  complete  a  course  in  the  German 
language  and  literatiire  as  is  practicable,  and  at  the  same  time  the  same 
instructions  that  are  given  in  English,  in  the  corresponding  English  de- 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  281 

partments,  are  given  in  these  departments.  The  fact  that  the  teachers 
in  the  German  grades  are  native  German,  or  are  of  immediate  German 
descent,  greatly  facilitates  the  work.  The  entire  German  work  is  also 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  a  skillful  teacher,  trained  in  the  best 
German  schools. 

High  School. — The  general  public  recognize  the  High  School  as  an 
indispensable  part  of  the  public  school  system,  and  hence  not  only  cheer- 
fully support  it,  but  demand  its  existence.  Without  the  high  school  aa 
a  goal  for  the  brighter  or  more  ambitious  pupils  of  the  lower  departments, 
our  school  system  would  lose  much  of  its  valuable  influence  upon  the 
community.  The  greatest  good  derived  from  the  schools  is  their  influ- 
ence upon  the  character  of  the  pupil.  The  cultivation  of  will  power,  or 
that  which  determines  character,  begun  in  the  lower  grades,  is  carried  on 
more  effectively  in  the  high  school;  for  the  pupil  is  more  mature,  and 
can  be  led  to  see  the  neccessity  of  the  power  of  self  control.  That  it  is 
one  of  the  duties  of  the  State  to  provide  the  means  for  higher  culture  must 
be  recognized  by  all  who  have  any  adequate  knowledge  of  the  State  and 
its  relation  to  the  individual;  the  branches  taught  have  already  been 
enumerated,  and  are  such,  if  completed,  to  qualify  the  pupil  to  enter  the 
freshman  class  of  the  State  University  or  Purdue  University.  And  in 
view  of  this  fact  the  State  board  of  education  has  commissioned  the  Law- 
renceburgh  High  School  to  pass  its  graduates,  without  further  examination, 
to  the  freshman  class  of  either  Purdue  or  the  State  University. 

School  Board. — R.  Walter,  president. 

F.  R.  Dorman,  secretary. 

Dr.  C.  M.  Miller,  treasurer. 

Instructors. — T.  V.  Dodd,  superintendent,  and  teacher  of  the  senior 
class. 

W.  H.  Rucker,  principal  of  the  high  school — ninth  and  tenth  years. 

Julia  W.  Rabb,  special  teacher  of  grammar  in  grammar  department, 
and  principal  of  eighth  year. 

Emma  Brogan,  special  teacher  of  reading  in  grammar  department, 
and  principal  of  seventh  year. 

Mary  E.  Pusey,  special  teacher  of  geography  in  grammar  department, 
and  principal  of  sixth  year. 

Nettie  Van  Ness,  special  teacher  of  arithmetic  in  grammar  depart- 
ment, and  principal  of  fifth  year. 

,  teacher  in  A  primary  grade,  fourth  year. 

Pauline  Berkshire,  teacher  in  B  primary  grade,  third  year. 

Retta  Brodbeck,  teacher  in  C  primary  grade,   second  year. 

Nettie  Akers,  teacher  in  D  primary  grade,  first  year. 

Carrie  Goyer,  teacher  in  C  and  D  primary  grades  first  and  second 
years. 


282  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Jennie  Huff,  assistant  teacher  in  D  primary  grade. 

J.  R.  Kuhlman,  superintendent  of  German;  teacher  in  German  gram- 
mar department. 

Alice  Schleicher,  teacher  in  German  primary  department,  third  and 
fourth  years. 

Anna  Sembach,  teacher  in  German  primary  department,  first  and 
second  years. 

Matilda  Hoffrogge,  teacher  in  German  primary  department,  first  and 
second  years. 

E.  A.  Roehrig,  teacher  of  music  and  penmanship. 

Wash  Howard,  Oldtown,  and  Mrs.  Flush,  Newtown,  janitors. 

BOLL    OF    ALLUMNI. 

1872— Fannie  Pierce,  Mary  E.  Banyard,  Emma  C.  Hauck,  E.  D. 
Freeman,  Carrie  H,  (Rowe)  McCormick. 

1876 — Mary  (Jones)  Ross,  Mary  Pusey,  Lizzie  (Savage)  Brenkert, 
Edward  T.  Mader. 

1877— Tina  Pusey,*  Emma  Blair,  Robert  Colt,  Fred  Ferger. 

1878 — Tillie  Israel,  Alice  Schleicher,  Lewis  B.  Danniel,  H.  Lee 
Early,  Collins  Fitch,  Warren  Hauck,  George  Schroeder. 

1879 — Mary  Akers,*  Olivia  Broadwell,  Emma  Brogan,  Julia  Stock- 
man, Cora  Bainbridge,  Fred  Everhart. 

1880 — Bessie  Hunter,  Edward  S.  Smashea,  Rell  M.  Woodward, 

1881 — Tecumseh  Meek,  Joshua  Terrill,  George  Terrill,  Nettie  Akers, 
May  Stockman,  Retta  Brodbeck,  Kora  Thomas,  Pauline^  Berkshire,  Al- 
lie  Snider,  Nannie  Terrill. 

1882— Ritta  Dunlevy,  Nettie  A.  Duck,*  Belle  Garner,  Emma 
Schleicher,  Lizzie  Pusey,  George  L.  Gatch,  Mary  Emmert. 

1883— Ada  Fitch,  Anna  A.  Sembach,  Flora  M.  Walter,  Carrie  D. 
Schleicher,  Lillie  St.  C.  Rooke,  Lillie  M.  Fichter. 

1884 — Lulu  Smashea,  Julia  Akers,  Mattie  Freeman,  Tillie  Schwartz, 
Louisa  Howard,  Mary  Murnan,  J.  F.  Tilley. 

1885— Ella  Squibb,  Martin  Givan,  William  Miller,  Jennie  Huff, 
Nettie  Burk,  Stella  Fisher,  Louisa  Decker,  Curtie  Hodell,  Albert  Geisert. 

LEADING    MANUFACTURING    INTERESTS,  f 

In  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  earlier  village  and  town,  the  business 
interests  and  lesser  industries  have  been  referred  to  in  a  general  way, 

•Deceased 

tThe  census  of  1880  showed  that  the  sixteen  productive  establishments  of  industries  of  the  city, 
with  a  capital  of  $1,350,000  invested,  produced  manufactured  articles  to  the  value  of  SI, 895,952  during 
the  census  year,  for  which  8290,967  was  paid  for  wages.  In  this  calculation  only  those  tactories  that 
produced  articles  over  the  value  of  8500  were  considered. 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBUKGH.  283 

and  it  is  our  purpose  here  to  treat  more  specifically  of  the  various 
manufacturing  interests  which  have  been  the  means  of  developing  the 
slow  and  quiet  village  and  town  of  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago  into 
the  bustling  manufacturing  center  of  the  past  decade,  with  its  numerous 
distilleries,  immense  furniture  factories,  cigar  factories,  cooper  shops, 
flouring-mills,  saw  and  planing-mills,  breweries,  woolen-mill,  stove 
foundry,  coffin  factory,  with  the  cluster  of  minor  mills  and  factories 
which  have  been  dotted  over  its  surface  and  given  employment  to  thous- 
ands of  men,  women  and  children. 

Flouring  Mills. — The  first  merchant  flouring-mill  in  Lawrenceburgh 
was  built  in  1837,  by  Mr.  E.  D.  John.  The  building  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, and  is  situated  on  the  canal  basin,  and  now  used  by  Mr.  R.  Duck 
for  a  saw-mill.  Mr.  John  erected  the  building  for  a  pork  house,  but 
when  completed  concluded  to  convert  it  into  a  flouring-mill,  with  four 
pairs  of  buhrs,  or  stones,  and  all  other  requisite  machinery  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  flour.  When  completed  he  sold  one-half  the  mill,  in  1838, 
to  Dr.  C.  G.  W.  Comegys,  now  of  Cincinnati,  who  soon  afterward  added 
four  more  pairs  of  buhrs  and  a  corresponding  amount  of  other  machinery, 
so  that  they  then  had  a  capacity  for  the  daily  manufacture  of  300  bar- 
rels of  flour.  These  mills  were  called  the  Miami  Mills,  and  in  a  few 
years  this  brand  of  flour  became  noted  for  its  excellence,  not  only  in 
the  United  States,  but  in  the  West  India  Islands  and  South  American 
ports.  It  was  said  of  it  that  it  would  remain  sweet  for  months  in  trop- 
ical climates  while  other  brands  would  sour.  In  1840  Dr.  Comegys  pur- 
chased Mr.  John's  interest  in  the  mills,  and  subsequently  added  a  dis- 
tillery, placing  it  in  the  same  building  with  the  flouring  business.  The 
Doctor  connected  both  the  flouring  and  whisky  business  for  a  season  or 
two,  when  he  sold  out  to  Messrs.  Bar  &  Febiger,  two  gentlemen  from 
W^ilmington,  Del.,  who  prosecuted  the  business  until  1848.  In  1847 
Milton  Gregg  erected  a  large  building  a  few  feet  south  of  the  above- 
named  mills,  in  one  end  of  which  he  placed  machinery  for  crushing  flax 
seed;  in  other  words,  an  oil-mill.  In  the  other  part  of  the  building  he 
placed  a  flouring-mill  and  machinery,  with  three  run  of  stones,  with  a  ca- 
pacity for  manufacturing  100  barrels  of  flour  daily.  This  flouring-mill 
and  machinery  he  leased  to  Lewis  &  Eichelberger  for  ten  years,  at  a 
rental  of  $1,000  per  year,  but  before  the  termination  of  one  year  he  sold 
the  mill  to  Lewis  &  Eichelberger,  and  in  a  few  months  after  the  sale 
both  oil-mill  and  flour-mill  were  consumed  by  fire.  This  occurred  in 
the  spring  of  1848.  Lewis  &  Eichelberger  did  not  rebuild,  but  at  once 
purchased  the  Miami  Mills  and  distillery.  The  latter  they  sold  to  the 
Messrs.  Gaflf,  who  removed  the  machinery  to  Aurora.  Lewis  &  Eichel- 
berger continued  to  operate  the  Miami  Mills  till    1852,  when  the  floods 


28-4  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

of  that  year  swept  off  the  great  dam  at  Harrison,  and  otherwise  dam- 
aged the  canal  so  that  it  was  confidently  asserted  and  believed  it  would 
never  be  repaired.  Lewis  &  Eichelberger,  despairing  of  ever  obtaining 
water  to  propel  their  machinery,  set  to  work  to  build  the  large  steam 
mill  on  High  Street,  which  they  completed  in  1853,  at  a  cost  exceeding 
$25,000.  The  architects,  or  millwrights,  were  resident  citizens — Messrs. 
A.  J.  Pusey  and  William  Probasco.  In  the  meantime,  the  canal  company 
had  made  a  loan  of  money  and  repaired  the  canal,  so  that  now  Lewis  & 
Eichelberger  had  a  steam-mill  with  a  capacity  of  350  barrels,  and  water- 
mills  of  300  barrels  per  day.  They  continued  to  operate  the  water-mills 
until  the  canal  was  utterly  destroyed  and  abandoned,  and  continued  to 
operate  the  steam-mill,  which  they  afterward  called  the  Miami  Mills,  up 
to  the  winter  of  1870,  when  they  were  sold  to  Messrs.  Roots  &  Co.,  of 
Cincinnati.  The  firm  of  Lewis  &  Eichelberger  was  formed  in  the  spring 
of  1847,  and  dissolved  in  the  month  of  December,  1870,  nearly  twenty- 
three  years,  in  which  time,  it  is  estimated,  over  2,000,000  barrels  of  flour 
were  manufactured  by  them,  and  the  money  paid  out  by  the  firm  for 
grain,  cooperage  and  labor  exceeds  $8,000,000.  The  mill,  under  the  pres- 
ent management  of  Messrs.  Roots  &  Co.,  has  been  enlarged  and  furnished 
with  latest  improved  machinery  for  manufacturing  purposes.  It  is  a 
model  mill  in  every  respect,  with  a  capacity  of  annually  manufacturing 
90,000  barrels.  The  firm  manufacture  the  finest  grade  of  flour,  that  has 
an  established  reputation  throughout  the  various  States. 

The  large  frame  grist-mill  known  as  the  Walnut  Street  Mills,  located 
at  the  end  of  that  street  going  to  Newtown,  was  built  in  1882,  by  Snyder 
Brothers  &  Co.,  but  now  operated  by  John  Snyder  &  Sons.  The  mill  is 
the  property  of  George  Beckenholdt.  It  has  a  capacity  of  225  bushels 
per  day  (twelve  hours).  It  is  equipped  with  improved  machinery  and  is 
valued  at  $10,000. 

The  Manufacture  of  Distilled  Liquors. — For  half  a  century  the  city, 
in  this  branch  of  industry,  has  been  famous,  not  only  the  city  but  the 
county.  This  city  is  the  headquarters  of  the  district,  the  office  having 
been  again  located  here  in  June,  1885,  the  collector  being  W.  D.  H.  Hun- 
ter. The  district  in  1880  comprised  the  counties  of  Dearborn,  Decatur, 
Franklin,  Jefferson,  Ohio,  Jennings,  Ripley  and  Switzerland.  The  total 
amount  of  revenue  collected  in  the  district  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
April  30,  1880,  was  $3,283,991.01  of  which  $3,259,771.87  was  collected 
at  the  offices  in  Dearborn  County,  more  than  twenty-four  twenty-fifths  of 
the  entire  revenue  collected  in  the  district.  There  are  located  in  the 
county  seven  distilleries,  namely:  four  at  Lawrenceburgh,  two  at  Harri- 
son, and  one  at  Aurora.  It  is  stated  that  the  firm  of  T.  &  J.  W\  Gaff  & 
Co.,  of  Aurora,  during  fifteen  days  in  February,  1875,  paid  as  revenue 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  285 

tax  the  sura  of  $120,000.  From  the  13th  to  the  20th  of  that  month  their 
orders  for  whisky  amounted  to  2,820  barrels  at  an  average  price  of  $50 
per  barrel,  or  $141,000  for  the  entire  amount  ordered.  A  gentleman  who 
for  years  was  connected  with  the  internal  revenue  office  at  this  point,  in 
speaking  of  the  distilleries  of  the  city, remarked  that  "it  is  impossible  to 
give  the  varying  capacity  of  the  distilleries  during  all  their  histories,  but 
it  may  be  safely  said  they  have  made  enough  whisky  to  float  a  navy  or 
flood  a  city.  Since  the  tax  went  on  they  have  paid  over  $30,000,000  to 
the  government."  Two  principal  causes  make  this  a  good  distilling 
point.  The  transportation  facilities  are  good,  and  the  water  is  clear,  in- 
exhaustable  and  cold,  a  very  important  matter  in  the  business. 

The  first  distillery  for  the  manufacture  of  distilled  liquors  was  estab- 
lished by  Dann  &  Ludlow,  in  the  year  1809,  and  was  located  near  the 
present  site  of  the  Squibb  &  Co.'s  distillery.  The  motive  power  was  fur- 
nished by  an  unfortunate  blind  horse,  and  if  there  was  no  unavoidable 
delay,  they  succeeded  in  manufacturing  two  barrels  per  week,  without 
the  aid  of  lynx-eyed  revenue  officials,  and  when  it  was  finished  it  was 
straight,  nothing  crooked  there;  whisky  rings  with  their  corruptions  and 
perjuries  were  unknown  to  the  honest  pioneer.  The  next  one  was 
established  in  1821  by  Harris  Fitch  &  Co.,  on  Wilson  Creek,  on  the  land 
of  Page  Cheek,  and  for  a  number  of  years  there  was  not  a  great  deal 
done  in  this  branch  of  manufacturing,  that  of  later  years  has  grown  so 
extensive,  and  given  to  our  city  and  county  a  world  wide  reputation  for  the 
quantity  and  quality  manufactured.  In  the  year  1836,  Mr.  Amaziah  P.  Hobbs 
erected  the  first  distillery  run  by  steam-power,  with  a  capacity  of  mashing 
600  bushels  per  day.  In  the  year  1839,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
rebuilt  by  Hobbs  &  Craft,  and  was  again  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  year 
1850,  and  was  never  rebuilt.  Its  location  was  just  below  the  present 
Glenwood  malthouse,  the  frame  part  of  which  was  a  part  of  their  malt- 
house.  In  1847,  Peter  Robbins  erected  what  was  known  as  the  "Little 
Dinkey,"  with  a  capacity  of  150  bushels  per  day.  Mr.  Robbins  sold  to 
Andy  Morgan,  who  during  the  war  was  joined  by  E.  G.  Hayes  and  they 
operated  it  until  about  1864.  In  1847  or  1848,  George  Ross,  Antony 
Swartz  and  Gid  Benner  built  the  Rossville  distillery,  subsequently  owned 
by  John  B.  Garnier  and  E.  B.  Dobell,  with  a  capacity  of  600  bashels  per 
day.  Since  that  date  there  have  been  several  erected  which  will  appear 
in  their  regular  order;  and  there  is  no  interest  that  has  done  more  to 
build  up  the  trade  of  the  city  and  county  than  this  one. 

The  John  H.  Gaff  &  Co.  Distillery.— lu  the  year  1851  Jabez  L. 
Owenby,  J.  Anson  Marshall  and  Jacob  B.  Shepperd,  erected  the  buildings 
subsequently  owned  by  John  H.  Gaff  &  Co. ,  for  the  purpose  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  high  wines,  alchohol  and  Bourbon  whiskies.      One  year  later 


286  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

this  firm  changed  to  Bradley,  Marshall  &  Blasdel,  who  ran  it  two  years 
and  sold  to  James  Gaflf,  Marshall  still  retaining  an  interest.  Gaff  & 
Marshall  added  thereto  the  manufacture  of  flour,  and  the  business  was 
continued  under  that  firm  name  until  the  year  1863,  when  Mr.  Marshall 
retired,  and  the  firm  was  changed  to  Gaff  &  Co.  la  the  year  1869, 
another  change  occurred,  and  the  firm  was  John  H.  Gaff  &  Co.,  who 
operated  it  until  1879,  when  it  was  sold  to  N.  J.  Walsh. 

The  building  for  manufacturing  purposes  was  located  in  New  Law- 
renceburgh,  fronting  on  Shipping  Street,  and  extending  back  to  Tanner's 
Creek.  It  was  built  of  frame,  with  a  capacity  of  mashing  900  bushels 
of  grain  per  day,  producing  3,500  gallons  of  proof  spirits.  There  is  a 
brick  fire-proof  bonded  warehouse,  100x40  feet,  two  stories  high;  also  a 
malt-house  70x50  feet,  with  a  capacity  of  malting  sixty  bushels  of  grain 
per  day.  They  had  cattle  pens  with  a  capacity  of  stalling  1,200  head  of 
cattle,  and  hog  pens  for  3,000  head.  This  firm  gave  employment  to 
over  thirty  persons,  and  paid  out  annually  for  labor  over  $16,000,  and 
when  the  distillery  was  run  at  its  full  capacity,  the  General  Government 
would  realize  a  revenue  tax  upon  the  goods  manufactured,  of  nearly 
$1,000,000.  This  firm  manufactured  cologne  and  French  spirits,  alco- 
hol, high  wines  and  Bourbon  whiskies.  The  principal  points  of  trade 
for  the  sale  of  goods  manufactured  were  Cincinnati,  New  York,  Balti- 
more, Boston,  San  Francisco  and  Marseilles,  France. 

The  distillery  burned  on  the  night  of  August  27,  1885 — the  property 
of  N.  J.  Walsh.     It  had  been  idle  for  several  years. 

William  P.  Squibb  &  Co.,  Registered  Distillery,  No.  8. — In  the  year 
1868,  Mr.  Kosmos  Frederick  purchased  grounds  and  proceeded  to  erect 
buildings  for  the  purpose  of  distilling  Bourbon  whiskies  and  high  wines» 
The  same  are  situated  in  what  is  known  as  the  town  of  Greendale,  front- 
ing on  the  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati  &  Lafayette  Railroad,  and  extend- 
ing back  to  Tanner's  Creek.  Before  the  completion  of  the  building  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Messrs.  William  P.  and  George  W.  Squibb, 
and  in  January  1869,  they  commenced  operations.  September  1,- 
1871,  Mr.  Frederick  sold  out  his  interest  to  the  Squibb  Brothers,  who 
proceeded  to  enlarge  the  buildings  and  the  capacity  for  manufacturing 
purposes.  The  buildings  are  built  of  brick,  20x200  feet  in  length,  with 
an  L  extending  back  forty  feet,  three  stories  in  height,  with  a  capacity 
of  mashing  330  bushels  of  grain  per  day,  producing  1,260  proof  gallons 
of  spirits.  There  is  a  brick  warehouse,  fire-proof,  40x100  feet,  and 
they  have  recently  erected  a  brick  building  for  the  purpose  of  continuous 
distillation,  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  alcohol,  cologne  spirits  and 
Bourbon  whiskies,  with  cattle  and  hog  pens  sufficient  for  all  the  stock. 
The  value  of  the  buildings  and  real  estate  is  $30,000.     This  firm  gives 


CITi'  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  287 

employment  to  fifteen  persons  and  pays  out  annually  for  labor  over 
$6,000,  and  for  articles  to  be  used  in  the  process  of  manufacturing 
$71,000,  and  pays  annually  to  the  General  Government  for  revenue  tax 
over  $300,000.  The  value  of  the  manufactured  goods,  exclusive  of  tax,  is 
over  $75,000,  and  the  value  of  the  stock  fattened  on  the  slop,  $40,000. 
The  principal  points  for  the  sale  of  the  goods  of  this  firm  are  Cincinnati, 
Louisville  and  St.  Louis.  The  members  of  the  firm  are  active  business 
men,  and  are  known  in  business  circles  for  their  promptness  and  relia- 
bility. 

N.  J.  Walshes  Registered  Distillery,  No.  7. — The  old  Rossville  dis 
tillery  was  built  in  1847  by  George  Ross,  Gid  Renner  and  Antony 
Swartz,  and  they  ran  it  till  Ross'  death.  Rittenhouse  &  Shroyer  after- 
wai-d  operated  it,  and  E.  G.  Hayes  and  William  Probasco  were  operating 
it  during  the  war,  when  the  tax  was  put  on  and  made  them  rich.  About 
1868  E.  B.  Bradford  ran  it  for  about  a  year  or  so,  and  afterward  Smith 
Fowler  ran  it  in  the  name  of  J.  S.  Smith,  and  Alf  Phillips  succeeded 
them.  In  1877  N.  J.  Walsh  bought  it  and  retains  it,  though  it  has  been 
entirely  rebuilt  and  is  perhaps  the  finest  distillery  property  in  the 
country — the  great  warehouses  and  all  the  buildings  being  of  the  beet 
brick,  and  the  machinery  the  latest  and  best  improved.  It  has  a  capacity 
of  mashing  2,100  bushels  of  grain  per  day.  The  feeding  pens  for 
cattle  will  accommodate  1,500  head,  and  the  warerooms  have  a  capacity 
of  storing  25,000  barrels  of  liquor. 

The  Nicholas  Oester  Registered  Distilling,  No.  9. — In  the  year  1875, 
Mr.  Kosmus  Frederick,  purchased  grounds  and  erected  buildings  for 
the  purpose  of  manufacturing  high  wines  and  Bourbon  whiskies.  After 
a  year  or  two,^he  sold  out  to  the  present  proprietor.  The  buildings  front 
on  Ridge  Avenue,  Greendale,  103x53  feet,  four  stories  high,  built  of  frame, 
with  a  brick  warehouse  20x20  feet,  and  three  stories  high;  a  fermenting 
house  25x72  feet,  and  cattle  and  hog  pens  sufficient  for  all  stock.  The 
capacity  of  the  building  is  for  mashing  400  bushels  of  grain  per  day,  pro- 
ducing 1,600  proof  gallons  of  spirits.  The  value  of  the  building  and  real 
estate  is  $30,000.  When  run  to  its  full  capacity,  it  will  give  employment 
to  twelve  persons,  and  require  an  annual  expenditure  for  labor  of  over  $7,- 
000,  and  for  materials  to  be  used  in  the  process  of  manufacture  of  over 
$80,000,  and  will  pay  a  revenue  tax  to  the  General  Government  of  $400,- 
000.  The  value  of  the  manufactured  goods,  exclusive  of  the  tax,  is  over 
$100,000,  and  the  value  of  stock  fattened  on  slop  $50,000. 

The  Frederick  Rodenhurg  &  Co.  Registered  Distillery,  No.  12  is  located 
on  Tanner's  Creek  near  the  bridge,  the  main  building  being  a  large  frame 
three  stories  high.  The  business  was  established  in  1880,  by  Fred 
Rodenburg,  at  a  cost  of  about  $15,000.     Other  members  of  the  firm  are 


288  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Christ  Rodenburg  and  Charles  Aring.  Eight  men  are  employed,  and 
the  distillery  has  a  capacity  of  mashing  310  bushels  of  grain  per  day. 
High  wines  and  Boarbon  whisky  are  distilled  here. 

The  Brewery  Business. — The  first  brewery  for  the  manufacture  of 
beer  was  established  by  George  Ross,  in  the  year  1845,  in  the  building 
known  as  the  Old  Cotton  Mill,  on  the  ground  where  the  Wheel  Company 
is  at  the  present  time,  with  a  capacity  of  manufacturing  twenty  barrels 
per  day.  In  the  year  1850,  Kosmos  Frederick  built  the  brewery  now 
owned  by  J.  J.  Hauck,  which  remains  unemployed.  In  the  year  1855, 
Mr.  John  B.  Gamier  erected  a  small  brewery  fronting  on  Shipping  Street, 
with  a  capacity  for  manufacturing  ten  barrels  per  day,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  operate  for  nearly  two  years,  when  the  business  had  increased  to 
such  an  extent,  that  he  was  compelled  to  have  larger  capacity,  and  he 
purchased  the  brewery  erected  by  Cosmos  Frederick,  and  continued 
there  until  1866,  then  sold  to  Hauck  &  Gebhard.  He  at  once  commenced 
to  erect  the  large  building  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  Shipping  Streets. 
The  building  for  manufacturing  purposes  is  100x100  feet,  two  and  a  half 
stories  high,  with  three  lager  beer  cellars,  100x17  feet,  and  sixteen  feet 
high,  with  malting  rooms,  with  a  capacity  for  malting  150  bushels  of 
grain  per  day.  The  capacity  of  the  brewery  is  fifty  barrels  per  day.  The 
brewery  gives  employment  to  twelve  or  fifteen  persons,  and  pays  out 
annually  for  labor  $10,000,  and  for  materials  to  be  used  in  the  process  of 
manufacturing,  the  sum  of  $70,000,  and  if  run  at  its  full  capacity,  the 
General  Government  would  realize  a  revenue  tax  of  over  $15,000.  The 
trade  is  confined  to  the  State  of  Indiana.  The  value  of  real  estate  and 
surrounding  property  is  $50,000.  Mr.  John  B.  Garnier  is  a  native  of 
France.  When  he  arrived  in  this  country  he  was  without  any  means,  and 
commenced  without  any  capital,  but  by  his  industry  and  economy,  has 
become  one  of  our  wealthiest  citizens. 

The  Edwin  B.  Dobell  Furniture  Factory. — In  the  year  1863,  Mr.  E. 
B.  Dobell,  who  had  been  extensively  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fur- 
niture in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  and  his  factory  having  been  destroyed 
by  fire,  purchased  from  Elzy  G.  Burkam  and  Joseph  H.  Burkam,  the 
furniture  factory  located  in  Greendale,  which  was  built  by  Brown  & 
Tate,  the  original  pioneers  of  the  manufacturing  of  furniture  for  the 
wholesale  trade  in  our  city.  He  paid  for  said  property  the  sum  of 
$22,000,  and  proceeded  to  the  manufacture  of  a  general  line  of  furni- 
ture, making  a  specialty  of  bureaus,  washstands,  extension  tables  and 
bedroom  suites.  By  strict  attention  to  business,  he  soon  succeeded  in 
building  up  an  extensive  trade  throughout  the  various  States. 

During  the  month  of  May,  1873,  his  extensive  manufactory  was 
destroyed  by  fire,   whereby  he'sustained  a  loss  of   $45,000.     With  his 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  289 

usual  energy  he  at  once  proceeded  to  repair  the  damage,  and  in  less  than 
three  months  the  buildings  were  erected,  stocked  with  machinery  and  in 
working  order.  The  building  is  60x100  feet,  four  stories  high,  built  of 
brick,  with  an  iron  roof.  Surrounded  by  his  extensive  lumber  yards,  the 
factory  building,  residence  and  real  estate  are  valued  at  $30,000.  He 
employs  from  seventy  to  seventy-five  persons  in  the  various  departments, 
and  expends  annually  for  labor  over  $35,000,  and  for  material  to  be  used 
in  the  manufacture  the  sum  of  125,000;  the  value  of  the  goods  manu- 
factured is  over  $100,000.  There  is  constantly  on  hand  a  large  stock  of 
manufactured  goods,  and  in  his  yard  a  stock -of  seasoned  lumber,  from 
500,000  to  750,000  feet.  The  principal  points  of  the  trade  of  this  firm 
ai*e  in  the  South  and  West,  extending  as  far  south  as  Florida,  and  west 
as  California,  and  embracing  all  the  territories.  The  entire  management 
of  the  business  in  all  its  departments  is  under  the  supervision  and  con- 
trol of  Mr.  E.  B.  Dobell,  who  is  known  as  one  of  our  most  enterprising 
and  upright  business  men. 

The  Lawrencehurgh  Furniture  Manufacturing  Company  was  organ- 
ized February  13,  1868,  by  Christ  Lommel,  Charles  Schnell,  Conrad 
Sander,  John  C.  Brand,  Fred  Klienhans,  George  Fi-eyn,  Adam  Kastner 
and  Fred.  Rodenberg,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $7,000.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  stockholders,  February  13,  1869,  was  increased  to  $13,000; 
March  5,  1870,  to  $15,000;  April  1,  1871,  to  $22,700;  February  21, 
1872,  to  $33,100;  December  31,  1872,  to  $43,300;  January  13, 
1874,  to  $58,150;  in  January,  1875,  to  $59,400;  and  in  January,  1876, 
it  was  increased  lo  $63,250,  which  is  the  capital  stock  at  this  date. 
The  establishment  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  with  C. 
Sander,  as  president;  C.  Lommel,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  F.  Klein- 
hans,  as  foreman  of  the  factory.  The  management  has  not  materially 
changed.  The  building  for  manufacturing  purposes,  corner  Main  and 
Second  Streets,  New  Lawrencehurgh,  is  built  partly  of  brick  and  frame; 
is  40x100  feet,  two  stories  high,  with  a  basement,  supplied  with  the 
most  improved  machinery,  and  run  by  steam-power. 

The  warerooms  "are  situated  on  the  corner  of  Short  and  Centre  Streets, 
Lawrencehurgh,  are  built  of  brick,  41x118,  three  stories  high  and  a 
basement.  The  buildings,  real  estate  and  machinery  ai-e  valued  at 
$28,000.  The  firm  gives  employment  to  from  seventy  fo  eighty  persons, 
and  pays  out  annually  for  labor  $40,000,  and  expends  for  materials 
$45,000,  and  the  value  of  the  manufactured  goods  are  over  $100,000, 
and  carry  a  stock  of  seasoned  lumber  from  800,000  to  900,000  feet,  and 
have  constantly  on  hand  a  large  stock  of  manufactured  goods.  The 
specialty  of  the  firm  are  bureaus,  washstands,  bedsteads,  dressing-case 
suites,  and  bedroom  suites.    The  principal  points  of  trade  are  in  the  West- 

17 


290  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

ern  and  Southern  States,  with  some  sales  in  the  Eastern  States.  The 
business  of  the  firm  is  constantly  on  the  increase,  and  their  goods  manu- 
factured have  a  reputation  the  equal  of  any  in  the  West,  and  the  busi- 
ness characters  of  the  members  of  the  firm  are  well  established  for  prompt 
and  correct  dealing. 

The  Miami  Valley  Furniture  Manufacturing  Company. — On  the  24th 
day  of  March,  1868,  George  Hodel,  Jr.,  John  Christena,  Henry  F. 
Wencke,  Adam  Schleicher,  George  Schleicher,  Gustave  Schoenberger,  Her- 
man H.  Woehle,  John  F.  Sembach,  Philip  Dexheimer,  George  Hodel,  Sr., 
Johann  J.  Haack,  Samuel  Dickenson,  John  Bookster,  Levin  B.  Lewis 
and  Alexander  Beckman,  formed  themselves  into  an  association  to  be  gov- 
erned in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  Indiana,  approved  May  20,  1852,  and  the  acts  amendatory 
thereof;  the  association  to  be  known  by  the  title  of  the  Miami  Valley 
Furniture  Manufacturing  Company;  the  capital  stock  $20,000.  The 
existence  of  the  company  was  to  be  for  fifty  years  ;  the  object  of  the  com- 
pany was  the  manufacturing  of  a  general  line  of  furniture. 

The  officers  of  the  company  were  as  follows:  George  Hodel,  Jr.,  pres- 
ident; Harris  Bateman,  secretary;  Levin  B.  Lewis,  treasurer.  Directors: 
George  Hodel,  Jr.,  John  Christena,  Henry  F.  Wenke,  Adam  Schlicher, 
Levin  B.  Lewis,  Johann  J.  Hauck  and  Gustave  Shoenberger.  The  com- 
pany proceeded  at  once  to  erect  their  buildings  on  their  grounds,  situated 
on  High  Street,  between  Charlotte  and  Maple  Streets.  The  building  for 
manufacturing  purposes  is  70x80  feet,  four  stories  high,  stocked  with  all 
the  latest  improved  machinery  and  run  by  steam  power.  The  warehouse 
is  34x150  feet  and  four  stories  high.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stock- 
holders, January  4,  1870.  on  account  of  the  increase  of  the  business,  it 
was  ordered  that  the  capital  stock  be  increased  to  $40,000;  at  the  annual 
meeting  on  the  3d  day  of  January,  1871,  it  was  increased  to  $60,000;  at 
the  annual  meeting,  January  8,  1872,  it  was  increased  to  $75,000;  at  the 
an  Dual  meeting,  January  6,  1873,  it  was  increased  to  $82  500;  at  the 
annual  meeting,  January  6,  1874,  it  was  increased  to  $100,000,  which  is 
the  capital  at  the  present  time.  The  company  gives  employment  to  about 
sixty-five  persons,  and  pays  out  annually,  for  labor,  the  sum  of  $42,000.  The 
real  estate  is  valued  at  $25,000,  and  carries  a  stock  of  lumber  from  750,- 
000  to  1,000,000  feet;  and  annually  pays  out  for  material  for  manufac- 
turing pui'poses  over  $40,000.  The  annual  sales  of  manufactured  articles 
is  over  $100,000.  The  increase  and  extent  of  the  business  has  exceeded 
the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  the  incorporators,  owing  to  the  admir- 
able management  of  its  officers.  During  its  existence  it  has  paid  to  the 
stockholders  over  150  per  cent  of  dividends. 

The  quality  of  the  furniture  manufactured  by  this  firm  defies  competi- 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBDRGH.  291 

tion;  its  trade  extends  over  the  Eastern,  Western  and  Southern  States,  and 
large  quantities  are  shipped  direct  to  the  Canadas.  And  owing  to  the 
safe  and  prudent  management  of  its  financial  department  by  its  young 
and  enterprising  president,  Mr.  George  Hodel,  Jr.,  who  has  annually 
been  elected  to  that  position  from  its  organization,  the  company  has 
never  been  compelled  to  ask  an  extension  of  time,  but  at  all  times  was 
prepared  to  promptly  meet  its  liabilities.  The  management  has  not 
materially  changed  since  the  beginning;  the  former  secretary,  Harris 
Bateman,  died  in  1873,  when  C.  M.  Pritchard  succeeded  him  to  that  oflfice. 
The  Ohio  Valley  Coffin  Company. — January  27,  1872,  Timothy  E. 
Scobey,  George  Hodel,  Jr.,  Israel  Crist,  Charles  Decker,  James  C.  Mar- 
tin, Joseph  McGranahan,  Charles  B.  Burkam,  Charles  Lommel,  James 
E.  Larimer,  John  Dorr,  Henry  Fritz,  Thomas  Freeman,  Washington 
Howard,  Julius  Israel,  Loyd  S.  Isdell,  Christian  Knoebel,  John  Knoebel,. 
Henry  Leindecker,  James  J.  McConnell,  William  Pound,  Peter  Roller, 
George  M.  Roberts,  Louis  Kohlerman,  James  E.  Smashea,  William 
Seekatz,  Thomas  H.  Tyson,  Mathias  Miller,  Joseph  White,  August 
Wencke,  organized  under  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
Indiana,  to  be  known  as  the  Ohio  Valley  Coffin  Company,  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $30,000.  Existence  of  the  organization  to  be  fifty  years; 
object,  for  the  purpose  of    manufacturing  wooden   burial  caskets  and 


The  officers  of  the  company  were  as  follows:  Timothy  E.  Scobey, 
president;  George  T.  Bateman,  secretary;  Israel  Crist,  treasurer;  T.  E. 
Scobey,  George  Hodel,  Jr.,  Israel  Crist,  Henry  Leindecker,  Charles 
Decker,  James  C.  Martin,  Joseph  McGranahan,  Charles  B.  Burkam  and 
Charles  Lommel,  directors.  The  company  erected  their  buildings  on 
High  Street,  between  Ash  and  Maple  Streets.  The  building  for  manu- 
facturing purposes  is  40x100  feet,  three  stories  high.  The  warehouse  is 
35x70,  three  stories  high. 

For  some  years  the  enterprise  languished  and  there  was  a  frequent 
change  in  officers.  The  present  management,  consisting  of  L.  S.  Isdell, 
president;  Charles  Decker,  superintendent  and  manager;  Samuel 
McElfresh,  secretary  and  treasurer,  have  conducted  the  business  since 
in  1875,  and  under  their  management  the  trade  has  steadily  revived 
until  the  institution  now  occupies  an  enviable  position.  In  1873 
the  capital  stock  was  increased  to  $39,000,  and  at  present  its  capital 
stock  is  $58,500.  This  is  one  of  the  leading  factories  of  the  city,  and  is 
doing  an  extensive  business.  They  manufacture  all  kinds  of  coffins, 
caskets,  and  all  kinds  of  trimmings  are  kept  on  hand.  The  capacity  of 
the  factory  is  600  coffins  and  caskets  per  week,  and  the  annual  business 
of  the  concern  amounts  to  upward  of  $100,000.     Employment  is  given 


292  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

to  about  seveuty-five  workmen.  The  real  estate  of  the  company  in  1876, 
was  valued  at  $19,000;  stock  of  manufactured  articles,  $15,000;  lumber 
and  materials,  $7,000. 

Similar  Factories  That  Were. — In  the  line  of  manufactories,  of 
which  we  have  just  been  treating,  there  have  been  others  of  considerable 
proportions  to  which  the  city  pointed  with  pride,  but  which  are  now 
numbered  with  the  things  that  were.  The  large  four-story  brick  build- 
ing, forty  feet  deep  located  in  New  Lawrenceburgh,  facing  Front  Street, 
is  a  monument  to  the  enterprise  of  the  Dearborn  Furniture  Company,  by 
whom  it  was  built  in  1873,  it  and  the  ground  costing  about  $18,000. 
This  company,  composed  of  George  Otto,  C.  J.  B.  Ratjen,  J.  C.  Keitel, 
J.  Gabriel,  L.  Bock,  George  Kaffenberger,  A.  Menken,  Christ.  Lommel, 
Charles  Kepper,  Joseph  Zengel,  G.  Baumgartner,  Conrad  Kepper,  B. 
Burkhardt,  Rev.  C.  F.  Worth,  C.  Kleyer,  J.  Hunnefield,  F.  Schneider, 
F.  Schlosser,  P.  Jacquot,  A.  Dietrich,  J.  W.  Roth,  J.  H.  Leindecker,  J. 
A.  Schwartz,  A.  Gass,  J.  W.  Loew,  Herman  Saager,  L.  Kupperschmidt, 
J.  Lose,  P.  L.  Matheus,  George  Seekatz,  C.  Israel,  J.  Duerr,  C.  Fitterer, 
J.  Jack,  F.  Lang,  C.  Kress,  A.  Stienback,  H.  Knude,  Joseph  Pallizcino, 
F.  J.  Messang,  F.  Kreider,  J.  Israel,  F.  Winter,  B.  Margileth,  A. 
Kiefer,  M.  H.  Kiefer,  H.  Eberharfc,  T.  W.  Kestner,  Christopher 
Scherger,  Fred  Schnider,  A.  Kanter,  W.  Panze,  John  Walser,  John 
Smith,  John  Ott,  Fred  Petershagen,  Frank  Federle,  William  Schoepflen, 
Ed  Seekatz  and  L.  Arnold,  was  organized  and'incorpovated  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  a  company  to  be  known  as  the  Dearborn  Furniture  Company. 
The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was  $40,000.  They  did  business  sev- 
eral years  only.  Subsequent  to  the  termination  of  their  business  the 
McLain  Chair  Factory  was  established  in  the  same  building,  which  was 
carried  on  only  a  year  or  so,  when  it  too  passed  into  history. 

In  1875  a  firm  under  the  title  of  the  Lawrenceburgh  Chair  Company, 
composed  of  Matthew  Bresbo  and  other  practical  mechanics,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  chairs,  making  a  specialty  of  cane  bottom  chairs,  did 
business  on  Walnut  Street. 

March  17,  1873,  the  firm  of  Marsh  &  Ewbank  entered  into  a  partner- 
ship for  the  manufacture  of  a  general  line  of  wooden  burial  cases  and 
caskets.  Their  manufactory  was  situated  on  Elm  Street  and  was  well 
equipped  with  improved  machinery,  run  by  steam  power.  Their  ware 
rooms  were  on  Third  Street.  This  enterprise  lasted  but  a  few  years 
when  it  ceased. 

The  Bauer  Cooperage  Company. — One  of  the  leading  industries  of 
the  city  was  established  in  1880  by  James  Walsh,  who  conducted  the 
business  two  years,  when  in  1882  it  became  the  property  of  the  present 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  293 

firm,  with  a  capital  stock  of  1100,000.  The  members  of  the  company 
and  officers  are  James  Walsh,  N.  J.  "Walsh,  secretary;  D.  F.  Walsh, 
Jacob  N.  Bauer,  vice-president;  John  G.  Bauer,  president  and  treasurer. 
The  buildings  and  yard  of  this  mammoth  enterprise  are  located  in  New 
Lawrenceburgh,  on  the  corner  of  Third  Street  and  the  railroad  (opposite 
the  brewery)  and  cover  nearly  half  of  the  block,  the  main  building 
being  a  large  two-story  brick.  The  establishment  is  equipped  with  the 
most  modern  and  improved  machinery,  giving  it  a  capacity  of  turning 
out  600  casks  per  day.  It  gives  employment  to  from  150  to  200  persons. 
The  establishment  was  burned  on  the  night  of  December  2,  1884,  but 
was  immediately  rebuilt.      Whisky  casks  only  are  here  manufactured. 

The  Miami  Stove  TForAvs,  located  on  the  up]  er  end  of  High  Street  be- 
between  the  tracks  of  the  Big  Four  and  Ohio&  Mississippi  Railroad,  were 
established  in  1877  by  S.  L.  Yourtee  &  Co.,  of  Cincinnati, Ohio.  In  consid- 
eration, on  the  part  of  the  city  of  Lawrenceburgh,  of  $27,000  and  the 
grounds,  the  company  was  induced  to  locate  the  works  at  this  place.  Messrs. 
Frank  R.  Dorman,  James  D.  Willis,  Dr.  Harding,  George  W.  Preston, 
H.  C.  Kidd  and  Col.  Burkam  were  instrumental  in  securing  the  same. 
Iq  1880,  Yourtee  &  Co.  assigned,  and  the  establishment  became  the 
property  of  a  stock  company,  of  which  the  present  capital  stock  is  $50.- 
000,  and  the  officers,  Fred  Naeher,  president;  J.  E.  Warneford,  vice- 
president,  and  Benjamin  Ruthman,  secretary.  The  buildings  are  of 
brick  and  cover  a  large  area  of  ground;  the  main  building  is  three  stories 
high,  35x125  feet.  The  cost  of  the  foundry,  ready  for  operation,  was 
$35,000.  The  full  capacity  of  the  establishment  is  150  men.  They 
manufacture  various  kinds  of  cooking  and  heating  stoves,  of  which  the 
Miamis  and  May-Flowers  have  gained  a  large  reputation. 

The  George  Huschart  &  Co.^s  Marble  Works.— In  the  year  1841  George 
Huschart  and  Jacob  Meyer,  Si\,  entered  into  a  co-partnership  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  the  business  of  marble  and  freestone  works. 
Their  place  of  business  was  located  on  the  lot  where  the  Odd  Fellows 
Hall  is  now  built;  the  co-partnership  existed  until  1842.  Mr.  Meyer 
disposed  of  his  interest  and  moved  to  Connersville,  Ind.  There  were 
several  changes  in  the  firm  from  that  time  to  the  present,  Mr.  Huschart 
always  retaining  a  large  interest.  During  that  period,  by  the  excellent 
workmanship  of  the  firm,  they  have  built  up  an  extensive  trade.  The 
firm  at  present  consists  of  George  Huschart  and  Michael  M.  Huschart,  his 
son.  Their  place  of  business  is  located  at  Nos.  131,  133  and  135  Walnut 
Street.  They  are  prepared  to  fill  all  orders  for  monuments,  tombstones, 
tomb- tables,  etc.,  of  American  and  Italian  marble,  red  and  gray  Scotch 
granite,  in  the  neatest  and  most  tasteful  styles.  Mr.  George  Huschart, 
senior  member  of  the  firm,  is  one  of  the  oldest  business  men,  with  a 
reputation  for  upright  dealing  in  his  business  unquestioned. 


294  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

The  Carriage  and  Spring  Wagon  Manufactory  of  William  Fike. — In 
1850,  A.  A.  Heifer  and  John  Mower  commenced  the  business  of  manu- 
facturing carriages  in  the  "old  pork  house  building,"  on  Walnut  Street. 
Their  partnership  continued  about  four  years;  they  were  succeeded  by 
Heifer  &  Woodward,  who  erected  the  large  building  now  known  as  the 
New  York  Store,  in  1855,  and  carried  on  a  very  prosperous  business, 
manufacturing  carriages  mainly  for  the  Southern  market.  In  1861  Mr. 
Woodward  retired  from  the  business,  and  Mr.  Heifer  sold  the  building 
and  constructed  another  on  Short  Street,  where  he  continued  the  business 
until  1873,  when  he  sold  out  to  George  Pfalzgraf  6l  Bro.,who  were  the 
proprietors  of  the  manufactory  up  to  1881,  when  succeeded  by  the  pres- 
ent proprietor,  whose  place  of  business  is  designated  as  Nos.  23  &  25 
Short  Street,  where  he  manufactures  all  kinds  of  buggies,  phaetons, 
spring-wagons,  etc.      He  employs  eight  men. 

The  A.  D.  Cook  Pump  and  Tube  Well  Manufactory. — These  works 
and  light  machine  shops  are  located  on  the  south  side  of  Walnut,  be- 
tween Centre  and  Tate  Streets,  where  are  manufactured  improved  tube 
wells,  tube  well  strainers,  the  latter  of  which  he  makes  a  specialty  of, 
and  on  which  he  has  established  a  good  trade.  All  kinds  of  repairing 
is  also  done  by  Mr.  Cook,  who  is  a  live  and  enterprising  man.  The  es- 
tablishment was  founded  in  1882  and  now  gives  employment  to  fifteen 
men. 

The  Burkam  Lumber  Company  was  established  in  1865  by  J.  H. 
Burkam,  with  an  investment  of  $20,000.  In  1883  it  was  transferred  to 
a  stock  company,  known  under  the  above  title.  The  firm  is  now  com- 
posed of  J.  H.,  W.  T.  and  F.  M.  Burkam.  The  planing-mill,  door, 
flooring  and  sash  factory  and  lumber  yards  are  located  on  the  corner  of 
Short  and  William  Streets,  where  the  business  has  been  continuously 
and  extensively  carried  on. 

P.  Walter  &  Son,  Dealer  in  Agricultural  Implements,  Feed  Store  and 
Manufacturers  of  Wagons,  Farming  Tools  and  General  Blacksmithing. — 
This  establishment  is  located  on  Walnut  Street,  and  was  founded,  the 
wagon  and  blacksmith  department  in  1879,  and  the  implement  business 
added  in  1882.  These  gentlemen  are  enterprising  and  public-spirited 
business  men,  and  deserving  of  the  patronage  of  the  country  at  large. 

The  Manufacture  of  Cigars. — For  a  period  in  this  city's  history  and 
that  of  the  county.  Dearborn  was  also  famous  for  this  branch  of  indus- 
try. In  the  year  1873  it  was  said  that  there  were  more  cigars  manu- 
factured in  this  county  than  in  any  other  county  in  the  United  States 
west  of  Cincinnati.  The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  number  of 
cigars  sold  by  each  manufacturer  in  the  county  during  the  year  1873; 


CITY  OF  LAAVRENCEBURGH.  295 

C.  H.  Werneke  (Lawrenceburgh) 2,145,300 

J.  Rief  &  Bro.  (Lawrenceburgh) 1,859,550 

William  Huber  (Lawrenceburgh) 700,000 

George  Ritter  (Aurora) 63,000 

C.  F.  Cless  (Aurora) 71,000 

J.  P.  Arnold  (Aurora) 118,000 

Abeles  &  Jaehing  (Aurora),  eight  months 63,000 

H.  Danimyer  (Manchester) 183,000 

H.  Maune  (St.  Leon) 52,000 

V.  Hoff  (Lawrenceville) 29,000 

Total 5,303,050 

Of  the  three  Lawrenceburgh  factories  referred  to,  the  one  of  Clamor 
H.  W.  Werneke  was  established  by  that  gentleman  on  a  small  scale  in 
1853.  His  business  constantly  increased,  and  from  the  first  year's  labor 
of  two  hands  and  100,000  cigars  manufactured,  it  grew  to  that  extent 
that  for  a  number  of  years  there  were  employed  from  sixty  to  eighty 
hands,  manufacturing  annually  from  2,000,000  to  3,000,000  cigars,  and 
expending  for  labor  over  $30,000,  requiring  an  outlay  for  material  to  be 
used  in  the  process  of  manufacturing  of  over  $35,000,  and  paying  an- 
nually to  the  General  Government  for  revenue  stamps  over  $16,000.  In 
1876  the  county  press  thus  alluded  to  him:  "His  manufactory  is  located 
on  High  Street,  built  of  brick,  three  stories  high,  and  complete  in  all  its 
departments.  Mr.  "Werneke,  with  all  his  enterprise  and  energy,  has 
proven  a  benefactor  to  the  interests  of  the  laboring  masses  of  our  city. 
He  has  taught  hundreds  the  trade  and  ever  acted  generously  with  them; 
and  to-day,  many  of  the  first-class  business  men  of  the  trade  throughout 
the  various  cities  and  towns  of  the  "West  learned  the  business  with  him. 
Upright  and  prompt  in  all  his  dealings,  he  is  known  and  appreciated  in 
all  bubiness  circles.  May  the  pioneer  of  this  great  manufacturing  inter- 
est of  our  city  live  many  years  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  energy  and 
enterprise." 

In  the  centennial  issue  of  the  Register  the  factories  of  Jacob  Rief  & 
Bro.,  and  that  of  William  Huber  were  thus  referred  to:  "On  the  1st 
day  of  September,  1869,  Jacob  Rief  &  Bro.,  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facturing of  a  general  line  of  cigars.  Their  manufactory  was  first  located 
on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  William  Streets,  with  a  capital  of  less  than 
$100.  Mr.  Jacob  Rief  being  a  practical  cigar  maker,  purchased  the 
materials  and  sold  in  a  retail  way  at  his  shop  the  manufactured  goods. 
In  time  the  business  increased,  and  he  employed  one  journeyman;  dur- 
ing the  year  1869,  there  were  manufactin'edJ39, 100  cigars;  in  the  year 
1870  the  business  still  inc7"eased,  and  there  were  manufactured  119,200 
cigars,  which  were  principally  sold  in  a  retail  way  to  the  the  trade  in  the 
city.     In  the  year  1871,  was  the  commencement  of  the   wholesale  busi- 


296  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

ness  of  the  firm.  A  wholesale  jobber  in  the  trade  at  Indianapolis  having 
seen  a  sample  of  the  goods  being  manufactured,  called  at  the  shop,  and 
astonished  Mr.  Rief  by  proposing  to  contract  for  the  delivery  of  10,000 
cigars  per  week.  He  laid  down  his  knife  and  the  unfinished  cigar,  and 
accepted  the  offer.  At  once  with  his  usual  energy  he  proceeded  to  ar- 
range for  the  fulfillment  of  his  contract.  Closing  out  the  retail  depart- 
ment he  moved  to  more  commodious  rooms  on  the  corner  of  New  and 
Walnut  Streets;  during  that  year  he  gave  employment  to  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  persons;  manufactured  and  sold  359,000  cigars.  In  the  year 
following  the  business  was  extended  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State,  and 
there  were  manufactured  and  sold  638,100  cigars.  During  the  year  fol- 
lowing Mr.  Rief  facilitated  the  manufacturing  of  cigars  by  adopting 
and  using  the  Oberhelm  patent  molds;  and  having  enlarged  the  manu- 
factory buildings,  employed  a  traveling  agent  to  assist  in  introducing 
his  goods  and  making  sales;  the  success  and  extent  of  the  business  of 
that  year  far  exceeded  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  the  firm,  and 
there  were  manufactured  and  sold  2,161,750  cigars,  giving  employment 
to  from  fifty  to  sixty  persons.  The  business  continually  increased,  and 
there  are  annually  manufactured  over  3,000,000  cigars,  giving  employ- 
ment to  over  eighty  persons,  and  paying  annually  for  labor  the  sum  of 
$31,000,  and  for  materials  in  the  manufacture  of  goods  over  $42,000, 
and  paying  annually  to  the  General  Government  for  revenue  stamps  over 
$16,000.  Their  manufactory  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Walnut  and 
New  Streets,  65x132  feet,  and  two  stories  high.  The  real  estate  and 
buildings  are  valued  at  $10,000.  The  rapid  growth  and  success  of  this 
enterprise  has  been  mainly  attributed  to  the  indomitable  energy  and 
business  qualifications  of  Mr.  Jacob  Rief.  He  is  yet  a  young  man,  raised 
in  our  midst;  he  has  done  a  great  deal  in  building  up  the  manufactur- 
ing interests  of  his  native  city. 

"  William  Huber  commenced  the  manufactui-e  of  cigars  in  the  year 
1866,  being  a  practical  cigar-maker,  decided  that  he  would  commence 
business  for  himself.  Purchasing  twenty-five  pounds  of  tobacco,  he 
manufactured  it,  sold  his  cigars,  purchased  more  stock,  and  by  his  in- 
dustry and  economy  and  honorable  attention  to  business,  he  has  in  a  few 
years  succeeded  in  establishing  and  building  up  a  lucrative  business. 
He  gives  employment  to  from  twelve  to  fifteen  persons,  and  annually 
manufactures  from  500,000  to  700,000  cigars.  His  manufactory  is 
located  on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  William  Streets.  He  is  a  young 
man  of  good  business  qualifications,  prompt  and  reliable,  and  of  in- 
dustrious habits,  and  ranks  among  our  men  of  enterprise  and  energy." 

Mr.  Huber  is  still  carrying  on  the  business,  but  now  located  on  High 
Street  between  Walnut  and  Short.  Neither  of  the  other  two  factories 
are  in  existence  in  the  city  at  this  time. 


^y^?^^    /4^t:>o- *-i^^^  c^i^ 


CITY  OF  LAWRExXCEBURGH.  297 

Other  Past  Manufacturies. — On  High  Street,  opposite  the  courthouse 
is  a  large  brick  building  in  which  was  formerly  carried  on  the.  business 
of  the  Lawrenceburgh  Woolen  Mills.  The  building  is  90x54  feet  and 
four  stories  high,  in  which  were  erected  six  machines  called  "Jacks,"  of 
264  spindles  each,  or  1,584  in  the  aggregate.  The  Lawrenceburgh  Woolen 
Manufacturing  Company  was  organized  February,  1866,  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $50,000  .  Its  president  was  E.  S.  Blasdel  and  the  secre- 
tary was  E.  D.  Moore.  The  board  of  directors  were  E.  G.  Hayes,  W. 
Hayes,  John  H.  Ga£f,  Isaac  Dunn,  E.  S.  Blasdel,  L.  B.  Lewis  and  C.  B. 
Burkam.  That  spring  they  purchased  of  Col.  J.  H.  Burkam  the  site 
upon  which  this  building  was  erected.  The  machinery  for  the  factory 
cost  $35,000.     Late  in  the  year  1870  the  mills  suspended. 

Along  the  river  bank  about  opposite  St.  Clair  Street  several  years  ago 
the  firm  of  Henry  Fitch  &  Co.  built  one  of  the  largest  and  most  com- 
plete saw-mills  in  the  State,  having  a  capacity  of  sawing  80,000  feet  of 
lumber  per  day.  The  machinery  was  of  the  most  improved  order  and 
was  put  in  the  mill  to  get  out  rough  and  finished  lumber  with  the  great- 
est speed  possible.  The  mill  was  supplied  with  electric  lights,  and  was 
operated  most  of  the  time  both  day  and  night,  and  manuf  actm-ed  every, 
thing  from  lath  to  the  largest  building  material,  and  without  doubt  the 
enterprise  was  the  most  gigantic  ever  attempted  in  this  part  of  the  State. 

GAS    WORKS. 

The  gas  works  of  this  city  are  located  in  New  Lawrenceburgh,  along 
the  track  of  the  Big  Four  Railroad.  They  were  established  in  1868  by 
a  stock  company  with  a  capital  stock  of  $28,600,  and  built  by  Messrs. 
Barringer  &  Ewing.  The  first  board  of  directors  were  J.  H.  Gaff,  Theo- 
dore Gazlay,  O.  T.  Stockman,  Zeph  Heustis,  A.  A.  Heifer,  J.  Giphard,  J. 
B.  Shephard  and  John  Hornberger.  The  first  officers  were  J.  H.  Gaff, 
president;  Theodore  Gazlay,  vice-president;  O.  T.  Stockman,  secretary, 
and  J.  H.  Lewis,  treasurer. 

The  works  were  completed  and  the  city  lighted  with  gas  for  the  first 
time  on  the  night  of  Monday  October  12,  1868. 

FIRE     DEPARTMENT. 

The  first  thoroughly  organized  and  equipped  fire  department  of  the 
city  was  established  in  1882.  This  year  a  committee  appointed  by  the 
council  purchased  two  steam  fire  engines  manufactured  by  the  Ahrens 
Company  of  Cincinnati,  the  cost  of  the  engines  complete  with  reel  cart 
and  2,000  feet  of  hose  to  be  $10,800.  January  25,  1883,  the  engines 
name  "Miami"  and  "Edenburg"  put  in  their  appearance.  The  Miami 
was  at  once  given  a  test  trial  in  the  presence  of  a  large  crowd  of  citizens 


298  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

In  about  three  and  a  half  minutes  after  the  match  was  applied  to  the 
engine  she  was  throwing  a  full  stream  of  water  as  high  as  any  house  in 
the  city.  The  trial  was  satisfactory.  Both  engines  are  alike,  and  were 
much  admired  on  their  first  appearance  on  the  street.  "The  fire  laddies 
acquitted  themselves  with  credit  in  handling  the  hose,  considering  it  was 
their  first  experience  in  this  line.  They  found  the  hose  a  rather  tough 
customer  to  handle  at  first  and  not  a  few  of  them  were  sprinkled  in  their 
efiforts  to  manage  when  a  full  stream  was  being  thrown."  Both  the  New- 
town and  Oldtown  companies  are  well  officered  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  prove  to  be  one  of  the  best  volunteer  fire  departments 
in  the  State.  The  companies  are  composed  of  men  of  energy  and  pluck, 
and  if  they  manifest  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  that  their  friends  ex- 
pect, they  will  soon  become  the  pride  of  our  city. 

Two  engine  houses,  both  substantial  and  ornamental  brick  buildings, 
located  on  the  north  side  of  Short,  between  High  and  William  Streets, 
and  on  Third,  near  Shipping  Street  (Newtown),  were  at  once  built,  and 
have  since  been  the  quarters  of  the  two  companies,  which  are  styled 
Lawrenceburgh  Fire  Company  No.  1  and  Lawrenceburgh  Fire  Com- 
pany No.  2.  On  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  and  by-laws  in  Janu- 
ary, 1883,  the  companies  were  given  as  follows: 

Fire  Company  No.  2. — Chief  of  Fire  Department,  August  D.  Cook; 
assistant  chief,  J.  H.  Menke,  Sr. ;  captain,  John  T.  Tittel;  lieutenant, 
Gustav  H.  Donk;  secretary,  Charles  Spanagel;  assistant  secretary, 
Henry  G-ambor;  treasurer,  J.  H.  Menke,  Sr. ;  hose  directors — Jacob 
Schimpf,  Jr.,  Henry  A.  Menke,  Jr.,  Andrew  J,  Pusey,  Jr.,  John  Spana- 
gel, Henry  Stahla,"John  B.  Garnier,  Jr.;  messengers — Charles  Miller, 
Frank  Lipps,  John  Gambor;  police — Jacob  A.  Lamason,  Peter  Zins, 
John  Weaver,  John  Gardner,  August  Yerger;  standing  committee — 
Harry  F.  Leuchtenburg,  Harry  Vest,  Al  Sherrod;  engineers — George 
W.  Ward,  Albert  Sherrod;  stokers — George  W.  Foster,  Edward  Leien- 
decker;  ax  men — William  Kaffenberger,  Henry  Gambor;  additional 
members — George  Bechtel,  Barney  Niemeyer,  William  Hardley,  Edward 
Heaton;  Asa  Dillon,  William  Bush,  Andrew  Gross. 

Fire  Company  No.  1. — Chief  of  Fire  Department,  August  D.  Cook; 
assistant  chief,  Hugh  S.  Miller;  captain,  James  Brannon;  lieutenant, 
Theodore  Wade;  secretary,  John  G.  King;  treasurer,  Mathias  Hansel 
man;  engineers — J.  W.  Fawcett,  Robert  Killough,  Wilson  F.  Gaff; 
stokers — Charles  E.  Crontz,  Perry  A.  Skinner,  George  Schrader, 
John  C.  Ratjen;  pipemen — James  Isherwood,  Charles  F.  Kohr,  John 
O'Toole,  William  Lannigan;  police — John  Sicking,  Henry  Schrader, 
William  Henn,  P.  W.  Jackson,  Hanson  Freeman;  messengers — A.  J. 
Huffman,  Ralph  Fisher,   F.   Ferguson.     Hook   and    ladder    company — 


CITY  OF  LAAVRENCEBURGH.  299 

foreman,  William  Sparks;  James  Walker,  Louis  Hitzfield,  Gustavo 
AV^ehrlinof,  Frank  Mason,  Isaac  Squires,  William  Standrifif,  Frank  Bar- 
tholome,  Charles  Schrader,  Edward  Barrett,  Albert  Bartholome,  R,  Kro- 
nenberg,  James  Haney,  Samuel  Grififith.  The  fire  plugs  and  cisterns  are 
set  forth  in  the  following  list:  Plugs — At  Miami  Stove  Foundi'y,  west 
end  of  Columbus,  Indianopolis,  St.  Louis  &  Cincinnati  depot,  Miami 
Valley  Furniture  Factory,  Lawrenceburgh  Flour-Mill,  McLean  Chair 
Factory, Lawrenceburgh  furniture  company, Rossville  Distillery,  Squibb's 
Distillery.  Cisterns — Corner  St.  Clair  and  Center  Streets,  corner  Elm 
and  Margaret  Streets,  corner  High  and  Short  Streets,  corner  Walnut  and 
Centre  Streets,  corner  High  and  Charlotte  Streets,  in  front  of  Catholic 
school  building,  in  front  of  Catholic  Church,  corner  First  and  Front 
Streets,  Newtown;  corner  Third  and  Main  Streets,  Newtown;  corner 
Main  and  New  Streets,  Newtown. 

SOCIETIES. 

Union  Lodge  No.  8,  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  at  Lawrence- 
burgh on  the  1st  day  of  February,  1841,  in  the  building  on  High  Street 
several  years  ago,  occupied  by  Werneke's  cigar  manufactory,  by  Grand 
Master  Christian  Bucher,  and  assistants.  The  charter  members  were 
N.  N.  John,  Benjamin  Mayhew,  John  Wymond,  William  Eichelberger 
and  Willis  Miles.  The  first  officers  were  William  Eichelberger,  N.  G.  ; 
Benjamin  Mayhew,  V.  G. ;  N.  N.  John,  secretary;  John  Wymond,  treas- 
urer. Nearly  all  the  other  charter  members  (in  1876)  had  passed  away. 
Brother  John  then  resided  in  Galveston,  Texas;  Brother  Wymond  in 
Indianopolis.  Brother  Mayhew  died  in  this  city,  and  the  members  of  the 
order,  true  to  their  sacred  principles,  assisted  and  educated  his  orphans. 
Brother  Eichelberger  died  June  2,  1871.  He  was  a  true  and  noble 
man,  an  honor  to  his  lodge,  and  a  faithful  exponent  of  its  charitable 
teachings.  He  lived  respected  by  his  fellow  men,  and  died  lamented  by 
all  who  knew  him.  The  first  initiations  were  George  Dunn,  John  Gill, 
David  Gibson,  J.  S.  Lemly,  John  Kyle,  Jesse  Hippie  and  Martin  H. 
Oflfutt.  The  oldest  member  of  the  lodge  (in  1876)  was  Samuel  Craft,  of 
Atchison,  Kas.,  who  had  been  a  member  since  February  24,  1841. 
January  18,  1845,  Brothers  George  Dunn,  P.  Ewing,  Jason  Piei'ce, 
H.  R.  Hall,  George  Chandler,  William  Davidson,  John  Medrus,  O.  T. 
Stockman,  O.  P.  Gray,  George  Morton  and  E.  Bateman  withdrew  by 
card  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  Vigilance  Lodge  No.  16.  Said  lodge 
has  since  surrendered  its  charter.  The  lodge  now  numbers  sixty- five, 
and  it  is  officered  as  follows:  Stephen  H.  Heustis,  noble  grand;  D.  C. 
Huffman,  vice  grand;  J.  R.  Kuhlman,  permanent  secretary;  William 
Fagaly,  recording  secretary;  Peter  Braun,  treasurer;  John  D.  Bostic, 
conductor;  George  Wood,  warden;  John  M.  Roehm,  I.  Guardian. 


300  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

December  9,  1850,  Brothers  H.  Dawson,  R.  Greenfield,  Robert 
Lancaster  and  E.  Jackson,  withdrew  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
lodge  at  Guilford.  In  the  year  1853,  the  present  hall  building  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $11,500. 

From  the  organization  of  the  lodge  up  to  1876,  there  were  received 
as  members  375  persons.  The  financial  condition  of  the  lodge  was  then: 
General  fund,  $9,509.75;  orphan  fund,  $2,172.43. 

Foriuna  Lodge  No.  289,  I.  O.  O.  i^.— July  29,  1867,  C.  J.  B. 
Ratjen,  L.  Adler,  George  P.  Vogel,  George  Myers,  William  Young, 
Anton  Schneider,  William  Linkenbach,  John  Eisel,  Frederick  Klein- 
hans  and  A.  Probsel,  withdrew  from  Union  Lodge,  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  Fortuna  Lodge  No.  289,  which  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

Lawrenceburgh  Chajjter  No.  56,  R.  A.  M. — Dispensation  granted 
December  20,  1865,  signed  by  Thomas  Pattison,  G.  H.  P.,  and  William 
Hacker,  G.  Sec.  The  petitioners  were  James  M.  Brashei',  E.  G.  Hayes, 
J.  W.  Mills,  William  Smith,  Leon  Adler,  J.  H.  Gafif,  Alex  Beckman, 
George  Mather,  E.  S.  Blasdell.  The  charter  was  granted  May  24,  1866. 
Comp.  Pattison  installed  Comp.  J.  M.  Brasher  as  M.  E. ;  H.  P.  Beck- 
man,  King,  and  J.  H.  Gaff,  Scribe.  The  joint  election  of  officers,  June 
27,  1867,  resulted  as  follows:  Alexander  Beckman,  H.  P;  B.  S.  Blasdell, 
K;  J.  H.  Gaflf,  secretary;  Leon  Adler,  C.  H. ;  J.  M.  Brasher,  P.  S.;  S.  Hor- 
ton,  R.  A.  C. ;  J.  C.  Hibbets,  secretary;  George  Decker,  treasurer;  E.  G. 
Haynes,  Capt.  third  vail;  J.  H.  Burkam,  second  vail;  R.  R.  Benham, 
first  vail;  William  F.  Crocker,  guard.  The  present  membership  is 
thirty-two.  The  present  officers  are  as  follows:  S.  H.  Collins,  H.  P.; 
N.  S.  Givan,  K;  L.  S.  Isdell,  Scribe;  S.  Dickinson,  C.  H. ;  J.  C.  Hibbets, 
P.  S.;  J.  F.  Rolf,  R.  A.  C;  R.  R.  Benham,  Capt.  third  vail;  J.  M.  Pal- 
mer, Capt.  second  vail;  J.  R.  Trisler,  Capt.  first  vail;  Louis  Adler, 
treasurer;  George  Decker,  secretary. 

Dearborn  Lodge  No.  49,  K.  of  P.,  was  instituted  at  Lawrenceburgh 
by  W.  G.  Wheeler,  D.  D.  G.  C,  with  other  members  of  Aurora,  July  2, 
1874,  with  the  following  named  thirteen  charter  members:  John  E. 
Ammel,  P.  C. :  Martin-  L.  Rouse,  0.  C. ;  Joseph  R.  Kuhlman,  V.  C. ; 
John  H.  Russe,  P. ;  Samuel  M.  Shephard,  K.  of  R.  and  S. ;  Boone  Rice, 
M.  of  F. ;  Joseph  Mooney,  M.  of  E. ;  R.  J.  Wood,  M.  at  A. ;  Charles 
Shephard,  I.  G. ;  George  W.  Johnson,  O.  G. ;  Hugh  S.  Miller,  Robert 
Killough,  Edward  Dobell.     Present  membership,  ninety. 

The  Lawrenceburgh  Liedertafel  was  organized  in  October,  1858,  with 
eight  members.  Rules  and  by-laws  were  made  and  adopted  September  8, 
1859,  and  the  first  regular  election  of  officers  occurred  October  13,  of 
that  year,  Prof.  Meyer  and  Frederick  Haas  acting  as  president  and 
secretary,  respectively,  in  the  meantime.     The  first  officers  elected  were 


CITY  OF  LAWRENCEBURGH.  301 

Charles  J.  B.  Ratgen,  president;  Dr.  August  Schmitt,  secretary,  and 
Michael  Lang,  treasurer.  The  society,  though  experiencing  di'awbacks, 
has  been  continuous  since  the  organization,  and  is  now  in  a  prosperous 
condition,  with  a  membership  of  about  eighty  persons.  The  present  offi- 
cers are  Charles  Decker,  president;  James  R.  Kuhlman,  vice-president; 
Charles  Ratgen,  Jr.,  secretary;  Frank  Federle,  treasurer;  Emil  A. 
Roehing,  director  of  singing. 

Germania  Lodge  No.  223,  D.  O.  H.,  was  instituted  February  22,  1871, 
by  officers  of  the  State  Lodge  of  Indianapolis  with  a  membership  of 
twelve.  The  present  officers  are  Jacob  Decker,  O.  B. ;  Frederick  Krieg, 
XJ.  B.;  Herman  Hoefer,  secretary;  Charles  J.  B.  Ratgen,  treasurer. 
Lodge  room  in  the  third  story  of  building  on  the  corner  of  Short  and 
Centre  Streets. 

Columbia  Grove  No.  2,  U.  A.  O.  D.,  was  instituted  November  1,  1858, 
with  thirteen  members,  by  a  gentleman  from  Louisville,  Ky.  The 
present  officers  are  Adam  Proebsel,  E.  E. ;  Anton  Kiefer,  U.  E. ;  Charles 
J.  B.  Ratgen,  secretary,  and  John  Albrecht,  treasurer.  The  society 
meets  in  hall  in  third  story  of  building  on  the  corner  of  Short  and 
Centre  Streets. 

OLD  LANDMAKKS  AND  BELICS. 

It  is  said  that  the  first  brick  house  erected  in  Lawrenceburgh  was 
built  by  Dr.  Jabez  Percival,  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  present  centu- 
ry. The  building  is  still  standing  and  is  in  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion. It  is  located  in  the  rear  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
faces  the  river,  and  is  now  known  as  the  "Bee  Hive."  It  is  a  substantial, 
two-story  structure,  quite  large;  the  lower  windows  in  front  are  square; 
the  walls  are  about  three  feet  thick,  and  in  which  were  used  what  is 
called  "slop  brick,"  an  article  of  brick  made  by  hand,  but  dipped,  while 
raw,  in  water  instead  of  sand.  It  seems  bricklayers  in  that  day  were 
not  adepts  in  mechanics,  and  did  not  know  how  to  construct  the  modern 
arch  with  brick,  with  its  key,  etc.  In  this  building,  wherever  an  arch 
occurs,  the  key,  or  center  brick,  is  of  mammoth  proportions,  formino- 
about  one-third  of  the  arch.  An  ordinary  sized  man  could  easily  go  to 
sleep  on  its  walls,  and  even  if  disturbed  by  a  bad  dream,  could  roll  and 
still  retain  his  position  on  the  outer  wall. 

What  is  known  by  the  older  residents  of  Lawrenceburgh  as  the  Hunt 
Hotel,  a  large,  three-story  brick  building  on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and 
High  Streets,  was  erected  in  1819  or  1820,  by  Jesse  Hunt,  and  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  three-story  brick  structure  erected  in  the  State.  This 
three-story  house,  it  is  stated  by  old  settlers,  struck  the  then  primitive 
citizens  with  a  kind  of  awe  of  curiosity  and  wonder.  While  the  third 
tory  was  being  added,  frequent  remarks  were  made,  like  "  What  in  the 
s 


302  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

world  is  Jesse  Hunt  going  to  do  with  them  rooms  way  up  there?     A  fel- 
low would  break  his  neck  looking  out  of  them  windows,"  etc. 

Until  within  recent  years  there  were  several  old  territorial  relics  in 
possession  of  Maj.  Anderson,  formerly  proprietor  of  the  Anderson  House 
(old  Hunt  Hotel,  above  referred  to),  which  consisted  of  an  antiquated- 
looking,  high  desk,  and  a  common  table  (both  very  solidly  and  honestly 
made),  both  of  which  formed  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  first  land  office 
established  in  the  Northwest  Territory.  These  articles  did  their  duty 
both  at  Vincennes  and  Cincinnati,  the  late  Peyton  Symmes  being  their 
last  user  in  Cincinnati  ere  the  land  office  was  removed  to  Chillicothe. 
The  old  desk  and  table  then  became  the  property  of  Gen.  Harrison,  and 
were  saved  out  of  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  Harrison  homestead  at 
North  Bend. 

THE    CENTENNIAL    FOURTH. 

The  4:th  of  July,  1876,  was  appropriately  observed  at  Lawrencebnrgh. 
The  city  was  pretty  profusely  and  extensively  decorated,  large  flags  be- 
ing suspended  from  the  principal  buildings  and  across  the  streets.  On 
the  night  of  the  3d  Capt.  Shrader's  company  camped  in  the  fair  ground, 
and  at  midnight  began  a  march  through  the  city,  on  their  way  firing  sa- 
lutes in  front  of  the  houses  of  the  mayor,  councilmen,  and  other  prom- 
inent citizens.  The  procession  formed  on  Walnut  Street  under  Grand 
Marshal  F.  R.  Doi'man,  composed  of  the  Continental  Guards  and  differ- 
ent societies  of  citizens;  two  decorated  cars,  each  containing  a  young 
lady  representing  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  surrounded  by  others  repre- 
senting different  States;  the  ship  of  state  manned  by  youths  in  sailor's 
costume,  and  bearing  a  young  lady  representing  Columbia,  and  two  dec- 
orated cars  containing  little  girls  in  costumes  displaying  the  national 
colors. 

The  procession  marched  through  the  principal  streets,  thence  to  the 
fair  grounds,  where  the  exercises  of  the  day  took  place.  The  latter  con- 
sisted of  music  by  the  band,  prayer  by  William  Chapman,  reading  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  English  by  E.  F.  Sibley,  addresses 
by  Capt.  J.  D.  Willis,  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in 
German  by  Charles  J.  B.  Ratgen,  and  addresses  by  R.  E.  Slater  and  J. 
E.  Larimer. 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  303 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CITY  OF  AURORA. 

Location  and  Origin— Incorporation  and  the  Early  Village— Rem- 
iniscences—Acts  OF  Aurora's  First  Magistrate— Aurora  a  City 
ITS  Mayors— The  Electric  Telegraph  and  Telephone— The  City, 
1858-59— Groavtii  and  Progress— Fire  of  1882- Floods  of  1882-83-84— 
Educational  Fire  Department— Ecclesiastical  History— Lead- 
ing Manufacturing  Interests— Banking  Houses—The  Grand  Op- 
era House— Postmasters— Societies. 

AURORA  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  four 
miles  below  Lawrenceburgh  and  twenty-six  below  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  The  natural  beauty  of  the  site  of  the  city  is  rarely  sur- 
passed, the  river  at  this  point  making  a  graceful  curve  or  bend,  and 
thereby  is  given  the  city  one  of  the  finest  harbors  on  the  river  from 
Pittsburgh  to  its  mouth.  Partially  built  on  and  surrounded  by  towering 
hills,  with  both  branches  of  Hogan  Creek  gently  wending  their  way 
through  her  limits,  it  possesses  that  picturesque  and  romantic  air  seldom 
bestowed  on  any  city.  In  the  growth  of  the  city  these  hills  have  been 
climbed,  and  many  are  the  beautiful  homes  here  located  from  which  the 
lover  of  nature  can  feast  his  eyes  upon  a  grand  and  most  beautiful  pic- 
ture. 

The  original  plat  of  the  village  contained  about  206  lots,  besides  six 
public  squares  or  tracts  of  ground  equal  to  twelve  lots,  and  extended 
from  the  Ohio  River — Water  Street — to  Ridgeway,  a  street  parallel  with 
Water,  and  from  Importing  Street  to  Library  Street.  It  was  laid  out  in 
1819,  by  Jesse  L.  Holman,  trustee  for  the  "Aurora  Association  for  Inter- 
nal Improvements,  on  fractional  Sections  32  and  33,  Town  5,  Range  1 
west.  These  fractional  sections  bordering  on  the  Ohio  River,  were 
entered  by  Charles  Vattier,  then  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  on  the  18th  day  of 
September,  1804,  and  were  purchased  in  1819  by  an  association  of  gen- 
tlemen residing  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Indiana,  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  out  a  town.  The  association  was  called  "The  Aurora  Association 
for  Internal  Improvements."  The  two  fractional  sections,  except  a 
small  reservation  at  Hogan  Creek,  were  conveyed  to  Jesse  L.  Holman,  in 
trust  for  the  association,  on  the  14th  day  of  January,  1819,  and  the 
original  plat  of  the  town  was  acknowledged  by  Mr.   Holman  as  trustee, 


304  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

before  James  Dill,  recorder  of  the  county,  on  the  30th  day  of  January, 
1819,  and  recorded  the  same  day,  when  Judge  Holman  gave  the  pros- 
pective city  the  name  of  "Aurora.'' 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  original  article  of  agreement 
between  Vattier  and  the  purchasers: 

"Articles  of  agreement  and  association  entered  into  this  day,  Jan- 
uary, 14,  1819,  between  Charles  Vattier,  of  Cincinnati,  in  the  State 
of  Ohio,  of  the  first  part,  and  Jesse  L.  Holman,  Richard  Norris, 
Martin  Cozine,  Samuel  Moore,  Erasmus  Powell,  David  Fisher,  Jehi- 
el  Buffington,  and  James  Powell,  of  Indiana;  Elijah  Horsley,  Will- 
iam Scandrett,  Philip  Craig  and  Ebenezer  GrifiSng,  of  Kentucky; 
John  W.  Langdon,  Daniel  Dudley,  Benjamin  Mudge,  Charles  Farren 
Watson  Lewis  and  Jesse  L.  Langdon,  of  Ohio,  parties  of  the  second  part, 
are  as  follows,  viz.:  Charles  Vattier,  party  of  the  first  part,  for  and  in 
consideration  of  the  covenants  and  agreements  herein  and  after  ex- 
pressed, to  be  performed  on  the  part  of  the  said  parties  of  the  second 
part,  has  this  day  and  hereby  does  grant,  bargain  and  sell  to  them,  the 
said  parties  of  the  second  part,  nineteen -twentieths  of  two  portions 
of  land  in  Dearborn  County,  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  situate  at 
the  mouth  of  Hogan  Creek,  viz. :  fractions  thirty-two  and  thirty- 
three,  containing  516  35-100  acres,  more  or  less."  By  the  terms  of  the 
instrument,  Vattier  reserved  that  part  of  Section  32  which  lies  on 
the  upper  side  of  Hogan  Creek.  The  association  was  to  pay  $19,000 
for  the  property  in  ten  equal  annual  installments.  The  first  installment 
was  paid  one  year  from  the  date  of  transfer,  and  one  each  year  there- 
after until  all  were  paid. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  association  was  held  on  the  20th  of  January, 
1819,  with  all  the  members  present.  Judge  Jesse  L.  Holman,  father  of 
Hon.  W.  S.  Holman,  was  chosen  president  of  the  meeting,  and  Benjamin 
Mudge,  clerk.  At  this  meeting  a  constitution  governing  the  association, 
which  had  been  previously  drafted,  was  accepted.  The  constitution  pro- 
vided that  the  regular  meetings  of  the  association  be  held  twice  a  year, 
on  the  second  Monday  in  January  and  July.  Jesse  L.  Holman  was 
appointed  trustee  of  the  association,  in  whom  the  legal  title  of  the  land 
was  ■  invested.  The  constitution  was  acknowledged  before  Charles  B. 
Cannon,  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Dearborn  County, on  the  25th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1819,  and  placed  on  record  in  the  books  of  James  Dill,  county 
recorder,  on  the  30th.  At  the  first  meeting  it  was  decided  that  "the 
company  proceed  by  themselves  or  their  directors  to  lay  out  a  town,  to 
build  an  ox  saw-mill  and  grist-mill,  a  bridge  across  Hogan  Creek,  a 
warehouse  or  such  other  improvements  as  they  may  judge  proper."  On 
the  1st  of  February,  1819,  it  was  ordered  that  the  directors  receive  sealed 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  305 

proposals  for  the  building  of  a  bridge  across  Hogan  Creek,  at  the  end  of 
Bridgeway  Street.  One  of  the  conditions  of  the  contract  was  that  the 
"proprietors  and  their  families  pass  toll  free."  The  bridge  was  not 
built  until  1836.  At  a  meeting  held  April  13,  1819,  Richard  Norris,  as 
agent  of  the  company,  was  required  to  give  bonds  in  the  sum  of  $40,000; 
as  treasurer  Philip  Craig  gave  bonds  to  the  extent  of  $30,000. 

The  first  sale  of  lots  took  place  April   28,  1819,  with  the  terms  of 
sale  as  follows: 

"  One  per  cent  in  hand;  one-fifth,  including  the  1  per  cent,  in  eight 
weeks;  one-fourth  of  the  balance  every  year  thereafter  until  paid.  If 
not  paid  punctually  interest  to  be  added  from  the  time  of  contract." 
At  this  sale  206  lots  were  disposed  of,  including  those  donated  to  persons 
who  agreed  to  commence  improvements  at  once.  The  lowest  price  paid 
for  a  single  lot  was  $60,  the  highest  $486.  The  entire  sale  amounted  to 
$28,553.  On  the  11th  of  July,  1820,  Elias  Conwell^was  admitted  as  a 
member  of  the  association,  he  having  purchased  the  shares  owned  by 
Erasmus  Powell.  Other  transfers  of  stock  were  afterward  made.  About 
this  time  the  company  commenced  drilling  wells  for  salt  water,  near 
where  the  Crescent  Brewing  Company's  brewery  now  stands,  and  Horace 
Bassett  and  Conwell  were  appointed  a  committee  to  superintend  the  work. 
In  January,  1820,  an  entire  square  was  donated  to  Samuel  Harris,  on  con- 
dition that  he  would  make  improvements  on  the  same  equal  to  four  sub- 
stantial buildings  within  eighteen  months.  At  the  same  meeting  of  the 
company  it  was  ordered  as  follows:  "  That  four  lots  be  donated  to  the 
friends  of  Samuel  Harris,  and  ground  suflScient  to  establish  a  cotton-mill 
or  woolen-mill,  provided  the  same  be  established  thereon  within  four 
years."  January  10,  1821,  the  ferries  across  the  Ohio  River  and  Hogan 
Creek  were  leased  to  Edward  Fairchild  for  a  term  of  two  years. 

October  24,  1822,  Jesse  L.  Holman  resigned  his  position  as  director, 
trustee  and  treasurer,  his  duties  as  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the 
supreme  court,  to  which  place  he  had  been  appointed  by  Gov.  Jennings, 
demanding  all  his  attention.  The  thanks  of  the  association  were  ten- 
dered him  for  the  "  ability,  wisdom,  impartiality  and  integrity  with 
which  he  managed  the  concerns  of  the  company."  The  trust  property 
was  then  conveyed  to  Richard  Norris,  afterward  to  Horace  Basset,  and 
finally  to  Isaiah  Wing.  The  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the  company 
held  April  27,  1820,  are  so  brief,  and  withal  so  unique,  that  they  deserve 
to  be  reproduced: 

Resolved.  That  when  any  member  wishes  to  speak  he  shall  rise  and  respectfullv 
address  Mr.  President. 

Resolved,  That  when  two  or  more  rise  to  speak  at  the  same  time,  the  president 
shall  decide  which  shall  proceed. 

Adjourned  to  attend  the  sale  of  lots. 

18 


306  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

The  deed  from  Charles  Vattier  and  Camila,  his  wife,  conveying  the 
property  to  the  Aurora  Association,  was  acknowledged  before  Isaac  G. 
Burnett,  who  was  the  mayor  of  Cincinnati. 

The  lots  were  sold  mostly  on  credit,  and  at  very  high  prices,  and 
for  three  or  four  years  a  great  deal  of  public  attention  was  given  to  the 
enterprise  and  quite  a  flourishing  little  village  was  built  up,  but  at  that 
time  there  was  but  little  immigration  Westward,  great  scarcity  of  money, 
and  few  of  the  lots  were  paid  for,  and  many  of  them  forfeited  to  the 
association,  Charles  Vattier  became  the  owner  of  a  large  number  of  the 
lots  and  most  of  the  reserved  lands,  and  afterward  transferred  the  same 
to  William  Israel,  attorney  in  trust,  and  he  to  Buchanan,  Buell  and  Lane, 
which  became  the  property,  by  transfer,  of  George  W.  Lane  about  the 
year   1835. 

Mr.  Holman,  as  trustee  of  the  association,  acknowledged  an  addition 
to  the  village  in  the  spring  of  1820  to  be  correct.  In  1837  twenty  out- 
lots,  containing  a  fraction  over  forty-eight  acres  of  land,  were  added. 
Later  additions  were  made  in  1844  by  George  W.  Lane;  in  1845  by 
George  W.  Chrisman;  and  in  1846  by  Henry  Walker. 

The  following  lots  were  designated  and  set  apart  by  the  association  for 
special  purposes,  January  18,  1820:  on  Literary,  now  Fifth  Street,  lot 
No.  208,  for  Library  Association;  two  lots  east  of  the  old  Baptist  Church 
building,  lot  No.  209,  to  the  Aurora  Baptist  Church;  one  lot  east  of  the 
present  old  church  building,  lot  No.  210,  for  school  purposes;  the  lot 
on  which  now  stands  the  old  meeting-house,  a  public  square  at  the  head 
of  Judiciary  Street;  lot  No.  216,  to  the  Masonic  Order;  on  the  site  of  the 
residence  of  Rev.  Mr.  Freeman,  lot  No.  221,  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  on  the  site  of  the  residence  of  Joseph  MeCreary,  lot  No.  221, 
for  school  purposes;  adjoining  lots  mentioned  one,  lot  No.  227,  to 
Presbyterian  Church;  one  lot  west  of  the  Mrs.  James Wymond's  residence, 
lot  No.  228,  for  school  purposes. 

INCORPORATION    AND    THE    EARLY    VILLAGE. 

In  September,  1822,  an  election  was  held  to  choose  a  board  of 
trustees  for  the  corporation  of  Aurora,  when  the  following  named  persons 
were  elected:  Edward  Fairchild,  Timothy  Brown,  Elias  Con  well,  Abraham 
St.  John  and  Ebenezer  B.  Mudge.  Horace  Bassett  was  chosen  clerk  of 
the  board.  Up  to  this  date  improvements  in  the  town  had  gone  forward 
slowly,  and  many  of  the  lots  were  forfeited  to  the  association,  owing  to 
the  inability  of  the  purchasers  to  meet  payments.  It  was  necessary,  in 
many  cases,  to  grant  further  time  to  those  who  were  improving  the  donation 
lots.  One  of  the  first  houses  built  in  the  town  was  erected  on  a  donation 
vt,  by  Henry  Van  Middlesworth.     It  was  finished  in  1822,  and  occupied 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  307 

for  several  years  as  a  hotel  and  store,  being,  probably,  the  first  public 
house  in  the  place.  It  was  known  as  the  "Aurora  Hotel,"  and  was  kept 
by  Van  Middlesworth.  The  house  still  remains,  and  is  now  the  residence 
of  Ira  Hill,  corner  of  Front  and  Second  Streets.  Conwell  and  Vattier 
became  the  owners  of  many  of  the  lots,  and  among  the  first  buildings 
erected  may  also  be  mentioned  the  frame  house  which  yet  stands  at  the 
south  end  of  Hogan  Creek  bridge,  corner  of  Main  and  Importing  Streets, 
and  the  frame  part  of  the  Eagle  Hotel,  on  Front  Street.  The  former  was 
built  by  Conwell,  who  occupied  it  as  a  store  and  dwelling  for  many 
years,  and  the  latter  by  Vattier.  In  this  building  Vattier  kept  the  first 
saloon  that  was  opened  in  Aurora.  Among  the  first  brick  houses  erected 
is  the  one  at  present  occupied  by  Mrs.  Cochran  and  daughters,  corner  of 
Main  and  Second  Streets.  It  was  built  by  Aaron  Foulk,  father  of  L.  N. 
Foulk,  who  had  a  store  there  for  some  time.  One  or  two  stores  besides 
those  mentioned,  were  kept  in  Aurora  at  that  period,  while  Wilmington 
had  about  three  places  where  merchandise  was  bought  and  sold.  Takino- 
the  extent  of  the  population  into  consideration  the  community  was  quite 
as  well  supplied  with  places  of  business  in  those  early  times  as  now. 
But  few  steam-boats  were  running,  and  the  merchants  brought  their  goods 
from  Cincinnati  in  small  flat-boats.  Previous  to  the  flat-boat  the  pirogue, 
a  craft  of  the  canoe  kind,  was  used  for  the  transportation  of  goods.  The 
first  ferries  across  the  river  and  creek  at  this  point  consisted  of  these 
pirogues. 

The  fertile  lands  of  southeastern  Indiana  were  attracting  emigrants 
from  the  country  East,  and  from  1820  to  1825  the  population  of  Dear- 
born County  increased  with  wonderful  rapidity.  Center  Township  (then 
Laughery  Township)  and  the  new  town  of  Aurora  received  a  fair  share 
of  this  population.  Many  new  houses  were  erected  in  the  town  and  con- 
siderable business  activity  was  manifested.  The  panic  was  brought  on 
about  this  period  by  the  failure  of  banks  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
Aurora  suffered  with  every  other  town  and  city  in  the  West.  A  check 
was  put  upon  improvements,  and  but  little  progress  was  made  for  some 
time.  Money  was  scarce  and  the  products  of  the  country  lower  than  evei- 
before  or  since.  Prime  corn  would  bring  but  7  cents  a  bushel;  eggs 
were  sold  for  2  cents  a  dozen,  and  butter  for  3  cents  a  pound.  Other 
things  were  proportionately  low. 

In  1823-24  Pinkney  James,  of  Cincinnati,  built  a  small  steam-boat 
on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  in  front  of  the  Eagle  Hotel  property,  and  on  the 
4th  day  of  July,  1824,  it  was  launched,  and  the  event  celebrated  by  the 
firing  of  cannon,  etc.  The  boat  was  named  the  "Clinton."  Hundreds 
of  persons  came  in  from  the  surrounding  country  to  witness  the  demon- 
strations and  pass  the  Fourth  in  town.     During   the    festivities,    Henry 


308  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Van  Middlesworth  was  killed.  He  was  assisting  in  the  loading  and 
managing  at  the  caonon,  when  a  premature  explosion  took  place,  killing 
him  instantly.  He  was  standing  in  front  of  the  gun  ramming  the  charge 
with  an  iron  bar.  The  top  of  his  head  was  carried  away,  and  the  body 
hurled  over  the  bank,  a  distance  of  several  feet.  Old  citizens  speak  of 
this  day  as  exceeding  all  others  in  the  history  of  the  town  in  the  amount 
of  drunkenness,  fighting  and  general  lawlessness  indulged  in.  The  town 
was  filled  with  people,  and  whisky  was  sold  and  drank  without  stint. 
Two  roughs  had  a  desperate  fight  in  the  blood  where  Van  Middlesworth 
fell,  and  immediately  after  the  body  was  removed,  while  scores  of  people 
looked  on  and  applauded  the  beastly  spectacle.  Dozens  of  tights  occurred 
during  the  day,  and  for  the  time  being  law  and  order  were  accounted 
as  naught.  Among  other  incidents  a  notorious  rough  named  Kilgour, 
who  had  been  drinking  heavily,  drew  a  pistol  on  David  Milburn,  against 
whom  he  had  a  fancied  grudge,  and  was  only  prevented  from  firing  by  a 
cool-headed  bystander  striking  the  weapon  from  his  hand. 

The  first  house  in  this  locality,  in  the  building  of  which  any 
pretensions  were  made  to  appearance  or  convenience,  was  erected  by 
Clayborn  Morrison,  at  a  very  early  date,  on  the  site  of  Strawder  Cheek's 
residence.  It  was  built  of  logs  (a  decided  improvement  on  poles,  willows 
and  bark),  was  higher  than  the  architect  of  the  period  seemed  to  require, 
and  contained  three  rooms.  History  is  silent  as  to  the  way  in  which  this 
residence  was  furnished,  but  as  Mr.  Morrison  was  probably  a  gentleman  of 
advanced  ideas,  it  is  safe  to  presume  that  he  had  his  forest  home  fixed 
up  in  a  manner  closely  akin  to  "style. "  The  second  house  of  this  character 
was  built  and  occupied  by  Page  Cheek,  and  was  located  somewhere 
on  the  present  Billingsley  farm. 

Referring  again  to  Mr.  Conwell,  it  was  stated  at  his  death  that  he,  in 
1819,  erected  the  building  at  the  corner  of  First  and  Main  Streets,  and 
in  it  established  the  first  mercantile  store  in  the  village,  and  in  connec- 
tion therewith  kept  the  postoflfice  for  eight  years.  His  house  was  the 
resort  of  politicians  and  others,  and  his  estimable  lady,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  Tatem,  of  Cincinnati,  made  their  abode  the  seat  of  refined 
hospitality. 

In  1828  the  author  of  a  geography  and  history  of  the  Western  States 
thus  spoke  of  Aurora:  "Aurora  is  a  new  village  at  the  mouth  of  Hogan 
Creek,  four  miles  below  Lawrenceburgh  on  the  Ohio.  It  contains  between 
sixty  and  seventy  dwelliugs." 

Five  years  later  (1833).  The  Indiana  Gazateer  thus  described  the 
village :  "  It  contained  about  600  inhabitants,  3  stores,  1  tavern,  a 
physician,  a  lawyer,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  several  mechanics  of 
different  professions,  a  seminary,  a  church,  and  a  large  and  prosperous 
Sunday-school." 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  309 

REMINISCENCES. 

The  following  article  containing  reminiscences  of  early  Aurora  was 
published  in  the  Independent  Banner  in  1852,  then  edited  by  N.  D, 
Folbre  : 

"We  are  no  stranger  in  Aux'ora.  Our  earliest  recollections  in  life 
had  their  existence  here.  Our  days,  from  our  infancy,  have  been  mostly 
spent  in  this  place  ;  and  we  profess  to  know  something  of  its  early  his- 
tory. 

"All  that  territory  now  covered  with  neat  houses,  and  known  as  the 
Fifth  Ward  of  the  town,  we  knew  when  it  was  overspread  with  Indian 
corn,  yielding  annually  a  bountiful  harvest.  Beneath  Chambers'  store 
once  run  a  deep  ravine,  from  the  hills  west  of  the  town,  and  emptied 
into  the  Ohio.  So  deep  was  that  ravine,  that  a  tolerably  sized  wooden 
bridge  was  thrown  across  it,  for  the  benefit  of  the  citizens  and  travelers. 
In  summer  we  have  played  in  its  waters  ;  in  winter  have  skated  upon  its 
frozen  surface.  Our  playmates,  who  sported  with  us  then,  are  now 
nearly  all  gone  ;  some  are  in  California,  a  few  yet  reside  here,  but  most 
of  them  are  dead. 

"Remember  well  the  old  grist-mill  which  stood  on  the  bank  of  South 
Hogan  Creek,  about  fifty  yards  to  the  right  of  the  walnut  tree  at  the  head 
of  Third  Street  ;  saw  the  oxen  when  they  tramped  the  wheel  that  turned 
the  mill,  and  the  miller  when  he  took  his  toll.  Recollect  when  Hogan 
Creek  at  its  mouth  was  sixty  feet  deep  (when  the  Ohio  was  low),  and  the 
old  Frenchman,  Vattier,  when  he  kept  the  ferry  across  it,  and  took  his 
'eleven -penny  bit.'     In  those  days  this  • 

'  Town  was  all  covered  over 
With  bramble  and  with  clover.' 

and  some  dog- fennel  and  a  few  Jamestown  (Jimpson)  weeds.     Oh!  those 
were  brave  old  days. 

"At  a  still  earlier  date,  about  the  year  1828,  when  four  years  of  age 
we  attended  school,  held  in  a  log- cabin,  which  stood  on  what  was  then  a 
grassy  common,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth  Streets,  west  of  Squire  Harris' 
dwelling.  This  was  also  used  as  a  place  of  worship  for  Methodists,  a 
sect  at  that  time  few  in  number  here.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  frame  and 
log-houses  composed  the  village.  A  few  years  later,  the  brick  house  on 
the  corner  of  Main  and  Second,  occupied  by  O.  P.  Cobb,  as  a  dwelling, 
was  built  by  Aaron  Foulk,  in  the  east  part  of  which  he  resided,  in  the 
west  he  opened  a  diy  goods  store.  This  house  was  considered  a  vast  im- 
provement to  the  town,  and  was  universally  styled  the  'big  brick.' 
Above  the  door  of  the  store-room  was  posted  a  sign  of  dark  green  ground 
with  bright  yellow  letters  which  read  'A.  Foulks'  New  Store,'  much  to 
the  delight  of  the  good  people  of  the  neighborhood.      In  1835,  where 


310  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

our  office  now  stands,  there  stood  a  frame  house,  occupied  by  Daniel 
Bartholomew,  Esq.  (deceased),  as  a  drug  and  dry  goods  store.  The  Squire 
was  one  of  the  oldest  inhabitants,  and  filled  the  various  posts  of  mer- 
chant, magistrate  and  doctor — there  being  no  regular  physician  in  the 
village.  His  store-house  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  day  it  was  burned 
we  were  in  school  taught  by  one  Gauf  Wilson  (who  will  be  remembered 
by  all  wbo  were  so  unlucky  as  to  have  been  his  pupils,  for  his  peculiar 
propensity  for  applying  the  birchen  rod).  A  fire  those  days  in  town  was 
a  remarkable  event,  and  the  school  was  dismissed  and  teacher  and 
scholars  hastened,  en  masse,  to  the  scene  of  disaster,  where  all  the  vil- 
lagers old  and  young,  male  and  female,  had  assembled  to  render  their 
aid  to  the  sufferer. 

"At  that  time  there  were  few  steamers  plying  upon  our  beautiful  Ohio. 
Some  of  them  were  hard -looking  crafts,  compared  with  the  splendid  boats 
of  the  present  day.  When  a  passenger  wished  to  take  passage,  if  in  the 
night,  the  boat  was  brought  to  shore  by  the  discharge  of  a  rifle  or  other 
small  gun.  Freights  and  passage  were  dear,  and  many  of  the  people  of 
the  village  and  neighborhood  preferred  traveling  on  the  old  'Fearnot,'  a 
keel-boat,  greatly  celebrated  as  a  fast  traveler,  making  one  trip  every  two 
weeks  to  Cincinnati,  freighted,  generally,  with  barrels,  hoop-poles  and 
staves;  and,  returning,  brought  goods  of  all  kinds  for  our  small  shop- 
keepers and  the  neighboring  villages.  This  unparalleled  speed  was 
eclipsed,  however,  by  a  smaller  keel-boat,  under  the  command  of  a  gentle- 
man who  was  determined  to  outdo  time  itself,  and  a  brag  trip  to  Cincin- 
nati (including  the  taking  in  and  discharging  of  the  freight)  was  conse- 
quently made  in  eight  days.  Thereafter,  when  this  swift  craft  came  in 
sight  of  our  port,  and  blew  her  famous  boat-horn,  the  villagers  assembled 
on  the  river  bank  to  greet  her  and  hear  the  latest  news. 

"The  year  1836,  almost  seventeen  years  since,  was  a  great  era  in  the  his- 
tory  of  Aurora— a  printing  office  was  established  in  the  town.  It  was 
called  the  Indiana  Signal,  and  was  owned  by  George  W.  Lane,  and 
several  others,  and  edited  by  S.  C.  Hastings,  now  a  supreme  judge  in 
California.  The  Signal  was  devoted  to  the  election  of  Martin  Van  Buren 
to  the  presidency.  John  K.  Wilcox,^who  yet  resides  here,  had  the  control 
of  the  mechanical  department;  in  that  office,  and  under  his  direction,  we 
set  our  first  type.  William  Webber,  was  also  an  apprentice  in  the  office, 
and  many  a  boyish  fracas  had  we  there  together.  The  office  was  in  the 
upper  story  of  the  house  now  occupied  by  Judge  Kumel  as  a  tavern,  on 
Main  Street,  near  the  creek.  But  the  6'i^na/ was  short  lived:  it  rendered 
all  its  strength  to  Van  Buren's  election,  for  which  purpose  it  was  estab- 
lished, and  shortly  after  that  event,  its  Democratic  fires  ceased  to  burn. 
A  paper  printed  with  the  same  type  and  press,  called  the  Dearborn  Dem- 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  311 

ocrat,  was  started  shortly  after  the  decease  of  the  Signal,  by  one  J.  C. 
Whitilsey,  but  died  in  a  very  short  time,  for  lack  of  support.  In  the 
latter  part  of  1838,  or  early  in  1839,  a  newspaper,  entitled  The  Dear- 
born County  Democrat,  was  started  in  town,  in  the  room  we  now  occupy, 
by  Alexander  E.  Glenn.  The  paper  was  Democratic,  and  advocated,  in 
1840,  the  re-election  of  Van  Buren.  The  election  of  Gen.  Harrison  was 
too  much  for  Mr.  Glenn,  and  his  paper  shortly  after  that  event  went  by 
the  board. 

"At  this  period  the  census  of  the  United  States  was  taken,  and  Au- 
rora was  found  to  contain  only  490  inhabitants!  And  not  till  about  1844 
did  the  place  give  evidence  of  ever  being  anything  more  than  a  small 
village.  But  the  country  for  many  miles  around  the  town,  being  exceed- 
ingly rich  and  productive,  whose  trade,  if  proper  inducements  were  held 
out  could  be  secured,  and  the  locality  of  the  place  being  one  of  the  best 
on  the  Ohio,  possessing  the  finest  harbor  and  landing  on  the  river  for 
the  largest  class  of  boats  in  the  lowest  stage  of  water,  were  advantages 
no  longer  to  be  overlooked.  Strangers  commenced  coming  in,  build- 
ing and  locating.  Business  and  dwelling  houses  were  in  demand;  prop- 
erty increased  in  Value.  The  old  citizens  holding  property,  put  up  sub- 
stantial houses.  Real  estate  was  in  constant  demand.  Men  of  capital 
were  attracted  to  the  town;  and  soon  Aurora  contained  a  number  of  val- 
uable houses.  From  year  to  year  the  place  continued  to  prosper.  Now, 
in  the  year  1852,  Aurora  numbers  over  3,000  inhabitants,  supports  two 
newspapers,  and  contains  some  of  the  most  elegant  and  costly  houses  in 
the  State — several  of  them  erected  at  an  expense  of  $9,000,  $14,000 
and  $15,000  each. 

Several  hundred  flat-boats,  freighted  with  produce,  every  season  leave 
our  port  for  Southern  markets.  A  superior  steamer  plys  as  a  regular 
daily  packet  between  this  place  and  Cincinnati.  A  considerable  busi- 
ness is  also  picked  up  here  by  the  mail  and  Madison  boats.  No  steamer 
fails  to  land  at  our  wharves  as  she  passes.  In  our  midst,  and  around 
us,  are  signs  of  active  business.  Our  landings  are  crowded  with  freight, 
our  streets  filled  with  wagons  from  the  country,our  mechanics  busy 
in  their  shops,  our  merchants  engaged  at  their  counters — all  denoting  a 
flourishing  little  city  and  prosperous  community.  What  a  change  in  a 
few  years!  At  this  point  the  great  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad  first 
strikes  the  Ohio  River;  the  machine  shops  for  which,  are  to  be  located 
near  the  west  part  of  the  city.  These  shops  will  occupy  twenty  acres, 
including  the  dwellings  of  the  workmen,  and  will  bring  to  our  place,  it 
is  estimated,  400  families." 

ACTS  OF  aurora's  FIRST  MAGISTRATE. 

Daniel  Bartholomew  was   the   first  magistrate  of    Aurora.     He    was 


312  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  year  1822,  and  from  a  docket  left  by 
him  it  would  appear  that  he  served  in  that  capacity  for  about  eleven 
years.  In  this  ancient  record,  which  is  yet  in  the  possession  of  Richard 
Hubbartt,  Esq.,  of  Aurora,  the  earliest  entry  was  made  January  9,  1822, 
in  a  case  entitled  "Ebenezer  Lange  vs.  Noah  and  James  Lambert." 
It  was  a  plea  of  debt  to  recover  $10.  On  that  date  the  plaintiff  ap- 
peared and  withdrew  the  suit,  when  the  case  was  dismissed  by  the  justice. 
The  last  record  bears  date  of  July  6,  1832,  showing  that  Squire  Bartholo- 
mew's term  of  office  was  somewhat  extended. 

Daniel  Bartholomew  came  to  Aurora  in  1819  or  1820,  from  Vermont. 
During  a  freshet  in  the  river  he  landed  his  family  at  the  mouth  of  Hogan 
Creek,  in  a  small  boat,  in  which  they  had  probably  floated  from  Pitts- 
burgh. His  family  consisted  of  a  wife  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the 
daughters  afterward  became  the  wife  of  George  W.  Cochxan,  a  man 
well  known  by  the  older  citizens  of  Aurora  and  prominently  connected 
with  the  early  history  of  the  town.  "When  the  water  fell  Bartholomew 
allowed  his  boat  to  "beach,"  and  continued  to  live  in  it  for  about  one 
year.  He  then  built  a  small  house  on  the  bank  of  the  river  a  short  dis- 
tance below  where  the  Eagle  House  stands.  In  this  house  he  lived  with 
his  family  and  kept  a  small  store.  After  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace, 
he  also  used  it  as  an  office.  Aurora  was  then  in  embryo.  The  building 
now  occupied  as  a  residence  by  Mr.  Ira  Hill,  corner  of  Second  and  Front 
Streets,  and  the  one  built  by  Bartholomew,  were  the  only  houses  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.  Charles  Vattier,  the  original  land  owner,  was  pro- 
prietor of  a  ferry  to  convey  persons  across  the  river.  The  ferry  consisted 
of  a  small  flat  and  a  large  canoe.  Elijah  Horsley  was  employed  by 
Yattier  to  manage  it.  Hogan  Creek  was  crossed  by  the  same  means,  no 
bridge  having  been  built  until  fifteen  years  later,  when  Mr.  George  W. 
Lane,  as  an  individual  enterprise,  constructed  a  toll  bridge  across  the 
mouth  of  the  creek.  His  bridge  was  of  great  importance  to  the  young 
town.  Mr.  Lane  afterward  sold  it  out  to  Dearborn  County,  and  when 
the    old    structure    became    insecure    the    present  bridge  was  erected. 

Going  back  to  Squire  Bartholomew's  docket,  a  brief  review  of  its 
contents  may  be  of  interest,  as  showing  how  and  to  whom  justice  was  ad- 
ministered in  Aurora  fifty  years  ago.  The  following  record  appears  on 
page  4,  and  is  among  the  first  cases  entered:  "State  of  Indiana  vs. 
John  Hiffi  In  a  charge  of  abuse  and  insult  to  the  wife  of  Ebenezer 
Lange;  warrant  issued  February  18,  1822;  the  defendant  came  and  the 
jury  summoned,  empaneled  and  sworn.  After  a  proper  and  full  in- 
vestigation of  all  things  ajDpertaining  to  the  charge,  the  jury  retired, 
and  soon  agreed  upon  a  verdict  of  eight  dollars  fine  for  the  State  of 
Indiana.  Daniel  Baetholomew,  J,  P." 


CITY  OF  .AURORA.  313 

On  the  20th  day  of  March,  1822,  for  breach  of  peace  and  swearing, 
Thomas  Longley  was  fined  95  cents;  same  date,  for  "abuse  and 
threatening  to  his  wife,  who  prayed  surety  of  the  peace,"  Thomas  Daily  was 
found  guilty  and  committed  to  jail.  May  31,  1822,  Axey  Wilson  was 
tried  by  a  jury  for  an  assault  upon  a  child.  He  was  adjudged  guilty  and 
fined  1  cent,  to  be  applied  to  the  State  of  Indiana.  Samuel  Roof  ap- 
pears on  the  22d  of  July,  1822,  and  acknowledges  himself  indebted  to 
Henry  Benson  in  the  sum  of  50  cents,  together  with  interest  thereon 
nntil  paid.  On  the  2l8t  of  August  an  execution  was  issued,  by  order  of 
the  plaintiflf,  and  in  default  of  payment  the  body  of  defendant  was  com- 
mitted to  jail  ;  Samuel  Doolittle,  constable.  State  of  Indiana  vs.  Amasa 
Ball.  This  was  an  action  of  assault  and  battery  on  the  body  of  George 
W.  Thornton  ;  warrant  issued  September  2,  1822  ;  returned  the  same 
day  with  the  body  present.  The  jury  was  unable  to  agree.  To  quote, 
from  the  docket,  "  The  foreman  retired  and  the  balance  was  discharged, 
and  the  defendant  made  his  escape  into  Kentucky  to  those  people  whose 
countenance  favored  his  character."  George  W.  Thornton  then  comes 
forward  as  the  defendant  in  an  assault  and  battery  case,  but  no  witnesses 
being  presented  against  him  he  was  discharged.  "  State  of  Indiana  vs. 
Samuel  Eoof.  The  defendant  was  legally  summoned  and  empaneled  as 
a  juror  November  2,  1822,  when  he  retired  from  the  room  after  the  case 
was  submitted  to  the  jury,  and  was  absent  some  time;  after  which,  with- 
out permission,  he  went  home  and  returned  not  again.  It  is  therefore 
considered  that  the  State  of  Indiana  recover  of  the  defendant  the  sum 
of  $2,  this  the  2d  day  of  November,  1822. 

Daniel  Bartholomew,  J.  P." 
On  the  1st  day  of  October,  1822,  James  Green  brought  suit  against 
Torrence  Curry  to  recover  37|  cents.  On  the  same  day  the 
claim  was  paid,  and  Green's  receipt  appears  on  the  docket. 
Isaac  Cannon  vs.  Jehial  Buffington.  An  action  for  neglect  of  duty  as 
constable.  No  cause.  Case  dismissed  at  plaintiff's  cost.  Ebenezer 
Grifiing  for  "contempt  and  abuse  and  trespassing  on  the  rules  of  com- 
mon decency  and  good  order"  was  fined  $1,  November  10,  1822. 
November  4,  1822,  it  required  three  juries  to  find  John  W.  Ledbitter 
guilty  of  assault  and  battery.  Ledbitter  was  fined  |5,  and  sat- 
isfied the  Court  by  note  on  the  agent  of.^  "Aurora  Association." 

Elias  Conwell  and  Horace  Bassett  were  prominent  and  influential  men 
in  the  days  of  which  we  write.  Both  were  leading  spirits  in  the  or- 
ganization and  building  up  of  the  town.  But  they  had  their  little 
personal  misunderstanding,  as  appears  by  the  record  of  February  24, 
1823.  On  that  day  Conwell  committed  an  assault  and  battery  on  the 
person  of  Bassett.  and  was  arraigned   for  trial  by  jury.     He  was  found 


314  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO   COUNTIES. 

guilty  and  fined  $2  and  costs.  Elijah  Wbitten,  in  an  action  "for 
profane  swearing  for  seven  different  oaths,  taken  before  me  on  the 
6th  day  of  March,  1824,  at  Aurora,  for  which  the  said  Whitten  was  fined 
one  dollar  for  each  oath."  On  the  7th  of  June,  1824,  Michael  Trester 
brought  suit  against  Isaac  Miller  on  account  of  the  freight  on  one  barrel 
of  salt  from  Cincinnati  to  Aurora.  Execution  issued  and  placed  in 
hands  of  Robert  Criswell,  constable.  Edmund  Cheesman  for  an  assault 
upon  Caleb  Woods-worth,  constable,  while  in  the  performance'of  his  duty 
as  constable,  was  adjudged  guilty,  and  for  want  of  bail  committed. 

In  a  suit  for  forcible  entry  and  detainer,  between  Luke  Erill,  plain- 
tiff, and  Elias  Conwell,  defendant,  March  19,  1825,  wherein  it  was 
alleged  that  Conwell  took  unlawful  possession  of  abiailding  belonging  to 
Erill,  and  in  which  considerable  public  interest  was  probably  manifested, 
the  "Court  adjourned  to  the  meeting  house."  The  following  named 
persons  comprised  the  ^jury:  David  Boardman,  John  B.  Chisman, 
Noyes  Canfield,  Peter  Carbaugh,  John  Vinson,  Walter  Kerr,  William 
Hancock,  Jonathan  Parks,  David  Walser,  Conrad  Huffman,  Asa  Shattuck 
and  Stephen  J.  Paine.  Verdict  for  plaintiff.  Thomas  Sparks,  for 
swearing  in  open  court,  August  23,  1825.  was  fined  $1.  "The  defendant 
left  the  State  and  died,"  says  the  record,  "but  did  not  satisfy  the 
judgment."  For  assault  and  battery,  April  29,  1826,  John  Brown  was 
fined  $3.  His  fine  was  not  paid,  and  Robert  Criswell,  constable,  was 
directed  by  the  court  to  convey  the  defendant  to  the  county  jail  for  im- 
prisonment. John  Lasine  for  an  assault  upon  his  wife,  Sunday, 
October  7,  1827,  was  arrested  on  complaint  of  J.  Wing,  and  brought 
before  the  court  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  When  sober  he  was 
fined  $1. 

Charles  Vattier,  the  land  owner  and  enterprising  business  man,  found 
time,  it  would  seem,  to  occasionally  partake  of  the  pleasures  and  pas- 
times of  social  life,  as  witness  this:  On  the  8th  of  December,  1830,  he 
was  arraigned  for  assault  and  battery  on  the  body  of  Peleg  Bartlett,  and 
fined  $3  and  costs. 

AURORA  A  CITY ITS  MAYORS. 

The  city  government  commenced'in  1848,  with  John  D.  Haynes  as 
mayor.  He  was  succeeded  in  1851  by  Solomon  P.  Tumy,  who  officiated 
until  1859,  with  the  exception  of  1856,  during  which  year  Washington 
Stark  occupied  the  chair.  John  Gaff  was  elected  in  1859,  Frederick 
Slater  in  1861,  Dr.  George  Sutton,  1863;  R.  Criswell,  1867;  Frederick 
Huckery,  1869;  J.  A.  Emerie,  1871;  Dr.  Frederick  Rectanus,  1873; 
Edward  H.  Green,  1877,  and  Louis  E.  Beinkamp,  the  present  incumbent, 
was  first  elected  in  1881,  having  since  administered  the  affairs  of  the 
office  with  commendable  zeal. 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  315 

THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH  AND  TELEPHONE. 

In  the  fall  of  1852  a  company  was  formed  under  the  name  of  ' '  The 
Eising  Snn,  Aurora  &  Lawrenceburgh  Telegraph  Company"  for  the 
purpose  of  running  the  wires  from  the  Lawi-enceburgh  office  to  Aurora 
and  Rising  Sun,  establishing  an  office  at  each  place.  The  office  at  Aurora 
was  located  at  the  grocery^of  |  W.  Webber  &  Co.,  on  Third  Street  with 
William  Webber  in  charge. 

In  1854  a  new  line  of  telegraph  (the  Wade  patent)  was  built  through 
Aurora  to  run  with  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad  to  St.  Louis. 

In  the  spring  of  1879,  the  office  of  T.  &  J.  W.  Gaff  &  Co.,  of  Aurora 
and  that  of  H.  W.  Smith  &  Co.,  of  Cincinnati  were  connected  by  tele- 
phone, messages  being  sent  and  received  over  the  line  on  Friday,  March 
14,   1870. 

THE  CITY,  1858-59. 

From  a  business  standpoint,  Aurora  made  the  following  exhibit  in 
1858-59,  as  shown  by  a  State  compilation  published  at  that  time: 

Allen,  W.,  carpenter. 

Allen,  E.  B.,  blacksmith. 

Andrews,  A.,  grocer. 

Beettner,  H.,  barber. 

Beerger,  W.,  gunsmith. 

Bess,  F.  M. ,  proprietor  hotel. 

Bloom,  A.,  merchant  tailor. 

Bond,  R.  C,  physician  and  surgeon./ 

Burns,  F.  A.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Bush,  B.  M.,  agent  Adams  Express. 

Campbell  &  York,  saddlers. 

Carbough,  J.  H.,  attorney. 

Chambers,  Stevens  &  Co.,  dry  goods,  groceries,  etc. 

Cheek,  George,  dealer  in  bay. 

Clark,  Mrs.  A.  P.,  postmistress. 

Cobb,  John,  coal  dealer. 

Cobb,  O.  P.  &  Co.,  pork  packers,  grocers,  etc. 

Cooper,  C.  H,  «fe  A.  J.,  jewelers. 

Crane,  A.  G.  &  Co. ,  manufacturers  of  bai'rels. 

Cunningham,  William,  dealer  in  liquors. 

Devons,  J.,  woolen  factory. 

Dines,  G.,  barber. 

Dyke,  N.  tin-smith. 

Ebersale  &  Haines,  druggists. 

Ebersale  —  physician  and  surgeon.  ' 

Edwards,  W.  J.  &  Co.,  carriagfe- makers. 


316  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

Fehling,  C,  grocer. 

Fisher,  P.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Gaff,  T.  &  J.  \V.,  millers,  distillers,  dry  goods,  groceries,  etc. 

Garmhausen,  B.,  grocer. 

Giedgold,  J.,  meat  market. 

Giedgold,  J.  L.  &  M.,  livery  stable. 

Goldsmith,  M.,  boots,  shoes,  etc. 

Green,  Ed  H. ,  attorney, 

Hamilton,  J.,  hotel. 

Harris,  W.  T.,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Hauck,  L.,  barber. 

Held,  P.  H.,  merchant  tailor. 

Hettenbergh,  S.,  exchange. 

Hill,  S.  P.  &  Co.,  druggists. 

Holman  &  Haynes,  attorneys 

Holz,  Dr.,  physician  &  surgeon. 

Hubbartt,  R.,  grocer. 

Hubbartt,  A.  B.,  carpenter. 

Huckery,  F. ,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Hurlbert,  L.  G.,  lumber  dealer  and  mill  factory. 

Ittner,  J.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Kasner,  P.,  bakery. 

Kelsey,  J.  A.  &  Co.,  wharf -boat. 

Kemp,  M.,  grocer,  baker  and  liquor  dealer. 

Kreitlein,  A.,  grocer. 

Lamkin,  H.,  tailor. 

Johnson,  A.,  baker. 

Laupus,  J.  G.,  tobacconist. 

Lansberry,  A.  B.,  wagon-maker. 

Latimore,  T.,  carpenter. 

Lozier,  Abram,  dry  goods  and  groceries. 

McCreary,  R.  E.,  dry  goods  and  groceries! 

McHenry,  B.  N.,  blacksmith. 

Malony,  J.,  grocer. 

Marron,  H.,  furniture. 

Mayer,  Cohn  &  Co.,  clothiers. 

Milburo,  J.  N.,  jewelry  and  book  store. 

Miles,   I.,  attorney. 

Parker,  S. ,  fruit  and  vegetables. 

Phalin,  I.,  grocer. 

Pierce,  S.  R.,  dry  goods  and  groceries. 

Pyle,  J.,  ambrotypist. 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  317 

Radspiner,  J.  F.,  grocer. 

Rider,  J.,  boot  and  shoe-maker. 

Rothirt,  F.,  grocer. 

Sadlei',  Mrs.  C. ,  milliner. 

Schultze,  A.,  hotel. 

Sherrod,  W.,  barber. 

Sherwood,  Mrs.  Mary.,  milliner. 

Shipper,  B.,  coal  dealer. 

Siemontel,  M.,  bakery  and  confectionery. 

Siemontel,  brewery. 

Siemontel,  M.  &  C,  millers. 

Slater,  F.,  grocer. 

Small,  E.,  dealer  in  hay. 

Squibb,  W.  P.  &  Co.,  dealers  in  liquors  and  groceries. 

Stafford,  J.,  grocer. 

Stark,  Mrs.  M.,  milliner. 
/Stedman  &  Co.,  foundry. 

Stevens,  J.,  blacksmith. 

Stevens,  W.  F.,  insurance. 

Stratter,  L.  S.,  dry  goods. 

Taylor,  G.  W.,  livery  stable. 

Terrill,  R.  Q.,  attorney. 

Tuck,  N.  H.,  ambrotypist. 

Tumy,  S.  P.,  mayor  and  dealer  in  stoves  and  tinware. 

Twyman,  B.  W.,  attorney. 

Veiht,  F.  L.,  physician  and  surgeon. 

Weaver,  J.  W.,  commission  merchant. 

Wehe,  A.,  saddler. 

Wilke,  J.  H.,  grocer. 

Worth,  F.  D.,  hotel. 
^Wymond  &  Gibson,  coopers. 

Young  &  Miller,  boots  and  shoes. 

GKOWTH    AND    PROGRESS. 

Important  eras  in  the  city's  history  may  be  said  to  have  commenced, 
first,  with  the  construction  of  the  bridge  across  the  mouth  of  Hogan 
Creek  by  George  W.  Lane  in  1836;  at  which  time  another  was  built 
west  of  the  city,  the  completion  of  which  was  of  the  first  importance  to 
the  place.  That  summer  a  number  of  young  men  of  energy  settled  in 
Aurora,  who  assisted  in  different  ways  in  diffusing  life  and  energy  to  the 
old  inhabitants  of  the  town.  L.  G.  Hurlbert  as  a  merchant;  Dr.  George 
Sutton  as  a  physician;  L.  C.  Hastings  as  editor  of  the  Indiana  Signal; 


318  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

A.  C.  Cole,  a  young  lawyer,  who  died  at  an  early  age;  Charles  and 
Thomas  Folbre,  George  W.  Cochran,  Isaac  Hancock,  all  young  men  of 
energy  and  also  extensive  river  traders.  About  this  time  Thomas  Folbre 
commenced  the  erection  of  a  large  brick  building,  which  stands  on 
Second  Street,  at  that  time  the  largest  and  finest  building  in  the  town. 
Second,  with  the  establishment  of  the  distillery  and  mills  of  Thomas 
and  J.  W.  Gaff  in  1843.  Third,  with  the  completion  of  the  Ohio  &  Mis- 
sissippi Railroad,  to  the  town  in  1854,  the  location  here  of  the  extensive 
car  shops  of  that  road  and  the  construction  of  the  turnpikes  about  that 
time.  Fourth,  with  the  location  of  the  Great  Crescent  Brewery  in  1873, 
and  the  establishing  of  the  mammoth  industry  the  rolling-mill,  by 
the  Aurora  Iron  Company  in  1873,  which  finally  became  the  nail  and 
iron  works  of  O.  P.  Cobb  &  Co. 

The  census  of  1840  gave  Aurora  a  population  of  490;  of  1850,  2,051; 
of  1860,  2,990;  of  1870,  3,304;  of  1880,  4,435. 

The  post  office  was  established  in  Aurora  in  1819. 

The  printing  press  was  introduced  into  the  village  in  1836. 

The  first  steamboat  was  built  at  and  launched  from  Aurora  in  1824. 

The  electro-magnetic  telegraph  was  put  in  operation  in  1852. 

The  railroad  was  completed  to  the  city  in  1854. 

Street  lamps  were  introduced  into  the  city  in  1861  and  a  portion  of 
the  streets  were  then  lighted. 

The  streets  were  lighted  by  gas  in  1874. 

A  steam  fire  engine  was  brought  to  the  city  in  1876. 

The  city  was  connected  by  telephone  with  Cincinnati  in  1879. 

In  the  Western  Republican  of  October  5,  1847,  it  was  stated  that 
"Notwithstanding  high  water  and  hard  times,  our  city  marches  straight 
onward.  The  cause  is  obvious.  Capital,  enterprise  and  industry  are  a 
part  of  the  secret  of  its  success — these  combined  must  overcome  every 
obstacle.  A  friend  has  taken  the  pains  to  give  us  the  number  of  houses 
which  have  been  built  since  the  first  of  March,  and  under  contract  to  be 
completed  this  season,  to-wit:  brick,  18;  frame  60;  additions,  12;  total, 
90." 

The  total  number  of  buildings  erected  in  Aurora  in  1850  was  123; 
100  of  which  were  dwellings,  2  churches,  1  mill  and  distillery,  10  ware- 
houses, 2  livery  stables,  4  blacksmith  shops  and  4  cooper  shops,  costing 
$120,000. 

Below  is  given  the  names  of  such  builders  of  houses  wherein  the  cost 
of  the  building  amounts  to  $1,000. 


CITY  OF  AURORA.  319 

Henry   Walker : .  |13,000 

T.  &  J.  W.  Gaff(raill  and  distillery) 30,000 

Joseph  W.  Gaflf g'ooo 

Presbyterian  Church 8  000 

Dr.  Sutton 5^000 

J.  &  0.  P.  Cobb  (store  room  and  pork  house) 5  000 

P-  B.  Vail 3;000 

Levi  Stevens 3  000 

John  Shattuck 2  000 

Henry  Blasdell 2  000 

B-  M.  Bush ;.";;   1^300 

Bierman 1000 

Samuel  Lewis 1  000 

$83,000 
'  'About  1850,  Aurora  had  grown  up  to  the  business  increase  caused 
by  distilling,  milling,  etc.  Next  came  the  railroad,  the  shops  were 
established  close  by,  and  another  rapid  growth  followed.  Again 
aboat  five  years  ago  we  had  caught  up  in  population  with  our  business, 
and  a  temporary  stoppage  ensued.  Lately  added  a  brewery,  a  furniture 
factory,  a  chair  factory,  and  an  immense  rolling-mill  to  our  industries." 
— Dearborn  Independent,  1873. 

In  November  of  the  following  year,  the  same  paper  said,  "Improve- 
ment on  every  hand  is  going  on,  our  streets  are  being  improved,  busi- 
ness houses  are  being  erected,  dwellings  are  fairly  springing  up,  and 
new  branches  of  business  are  opening  up  constantly.  Our  population  is 
increasing,  rapidly,  business  men,  professional  men  and  capitalists  are 
locating  here,  and  Aurora  is  becoming  noted  for  her  business  energy  and 
enterprise." 

A  writer  for  one  of  the  city  papers  in  1879,  speaking  of  forty  years 
ago,  said,  '  'Then  what  is  now  the  heart  of  the  city,  was  a  common,  multis 
generous  of  ravines,  mud  holes,  jimson  and  dog-fennel  patches.  The 
Third  Ward  of  Sunnyside  and  West  Side,  were  either  cornfields  or  heavy 
forests,  while  our  lively  suburb,  Cochran,  was  the  elegant  hay  farm  of 
the  gentleman  after  whom  it  is  named.  The  roads  leading  to  the  interior 
were  of  such  a  character  that  the  best  one  ascended  the  hills  at  such  a 
grade  as  to  require  a  good  team  and  light  wagon  to  haul  a  barrel  of  salt, 
or  whisky  and  keg  of  dog- leg  tobacco  to  Wilmington,  then  the  county 
seat,  and  seat  of  learning  of  Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties;  but  now  only 
the  decayed  remains  of  its  former  self.  Whilst  the  roads  leading  both 
up  and  down  the  river  were  in  such  a  condition,  without  bridges,  and 
the  streams  ferried  in  such  a  manner  that  no  prudent  life  insurance  com- 
pany could  afi"ord  to  take  risks  on  persons  who  traveled  them.  Ten 
years  later  we  find  Aiirora  incorporated  and  improving  her  streets,  which 
together  with  the  liberal  use  of  her  influence  and  means  in   relocating, 


320  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

grading  aud  mettling  all  her  roads,  inlets  and  outlets,  soon  marked 
a  progress  that  has  continued  until  Aurora,  solid  Aurora  has  expand- 
ed clear  across  the  valley  and  above  the  confluence  of  the  two  Hogans, 
and  is  rapidly  climbing  the  surrounding  hills,  which  aflford  the  most 
delightful  views  to  be  found  in  the  Ohio  Valley." 

Concerning  the  city's  improvements  we  quote  from  the  Independent 
of  January  10,  1878:  "Our  city  has  come  out  wonderfully  in  the  last 
seven  months,  as  the  following  summary  will  show:  Beginning  on  Fifth 
Street,  we  have  J.  J.  Metcalfe,  a  fine  two-story  dwelling;  Crescent  Brew- 
ery, two-story  bottling  establishment.  On  Fourth  Street,  John  Stark, 
dwelling;  James  R.  Hayes,  two-story  dwelling;  H.  J.  Marshall,  renova- 
tion of  house;  Prof.  Tufts  and  Charles  Stevens,  each  a  two- story  dwell- 
ing. Third  Street,  Episcopal  Church  and  Nees'  new  hotel.  Second 
Street,  Johnson's  two-story  brick  business  house.  Bridgway  Street, 
Martin  Scheuerman,  two-story  brick  dwelling;  Romstein,  one-story  busi- 
ness house.  Mechanic  Street,  Al  Bloom,  dwelling;  Main  Street,  Small's 
and  Wilke's  buildings,  both  large,  two-story  business  houses.  On  Judi- 
ciary, the  complete  overhauling  and  repairing  of  the  old  Weaver  and 
Groves  property;  also  dwellings  of  P.  Garrity,  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
York's  large  livery  stable.  In  the  Third  Ward  the  building  has 
been  confined  exclusively  to  dwellings,  as  follows:  Johnson  Street,  John 
Twentyman,  E.  Cole  and  Pardee  Bench;  Broadway,  Charles  Glass  and 
P.  Garrity;  Moore  Street,  Dent  Wymond;  Manchester  Street,  W.  H. 
Cobb;  Sunnyside,  E.  D.  Haynes,  B.  F.  Trester,  Jr.,  Thomas  Tan- 
ner; Eastside,  William  Block;  in  Westside,  Frank  Briddell,  Charles 
Shepard,  Rev.  I.  B.  Grundy,  John  Gifiin  and  George  Lamb  have 
erected  handsome  dwellings.  Never,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  the  city, 
has  so  much  building  been  done  in  so  short  a  time.  Next  season  many 
more  buildings  will  go  up.  The  foundation  for  the  Nutshell  &  Cunning- 
ham ,  and  the  Mabin  Brothers'  buildings,  on  Second  Street,  have  been 
laid,  and  the  erection  of  large  business  houses  thereon,  will  begin  early 
in  the  spring.  We  venture  the  assertion  that  no  town  of  its  size  in  this 
part  of  the  country  has  made  the  advancement  that  our  city  has  during 
the  past  year." 

FIRE  OF  1882. 

September  4.  1882,  occurred  the  greatest  fire  at  Aurora,  that  the  city 
ever  experienced,  by  which  was  consumed  nearly  a  whole  block  of  build- 
ings. The  fire  originated  in  the  chair  factory  of  John  Cobb  &  Co.,  on 
Bridgeway  Street,  nearly  opposite  the  Indiana  House.  The  wind  was 
blowing  a  sweeping  gale  from  the  burning  building  right  into  the  heart 
of  the  city,  and  most  of  the  surrounding  buildings  were  wooden  struct- 
ures.    The  tire  extended  in  every  direction,  except   to   the   north.       The 


CITY  OF   AURORA.  321 

Indiana  House  burned,  everything  east  of  it  on  Fourth  Street,  John 
Siemantel's  buildings  on  Third  Street,  also  Adolph  Mann's  saloon,  and 
ail  the  out-houses  between  Third  and  Fourth  Streets,  and  the  first  alley 
east  of  Bridgeway,  burned.  On  the  west  side  of  Bridgeway  Street  the  chair 
factory,  engine-house,  dry  house  and  ware-house,  a  carpenter  shop  and  brick 
dwelling,  and  all  buildings  there  between  Third  and  Fourth  and  First, 
were  burned.  Seventy-five  thousand  dollars  worth  of  property,  covering 
a  whole  square,  was  nearly  wiped  out.  The  steam  fire  engine  from  the 
Walsh  &  Kellogg  Distillery,  of  Luwrenceburgh,  was  sent  down,  and  one 
telegraphed  for  from  Cincinnati,  but  did  not  come,a8  the  fire  was  got  under 
control.  The  principal  losses  were  as  follows:  John  Cobb  &  Co., 
$30,000,  insurance  to  the  amount  of  $8,000;  Mrs.  Brewington,  $5.000, no 
insurance;  John  H.  Siemantel,  $7,000,  insurance  $3,000;  Adolph  Stamm, 
$6,000,  insurance  $3,000;  M.  Giegoldt,  $15,000,  insurance  $6,000. 

FLOODS— 1882— 1883— 1884. 

During  the  great  floods  in  the  Ohio  River,  occurring  in  February, 
1882.  1883  and  1884,  Aurora  shared  the  same  fate  as  did  her  sister 
Ohio  River  cities  that  were  so  unfortunate  as  not  to  have  been  built  on 
elevations. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  one  of  the  city  papers  of  those 
years,  as  showing  the  rise,  progress  and  receding  of  the  waters,  and 
the  general  aspect  of  things:  On  Tuesday  morning  the  weather  was 
quite  cold  and  snow  fell  in  fitful  gusts,  yet  the  rise  continued  slowly  but 
surely.  The  water  flooded  Main  Street  from  the  bridge  half  way  to 
Second  Street,  and  from  the  foot  of  Second  Street  to  Chambers  & 
Stevens'  corner.  The  people  living  on  these  streets  were  forced  to  move 
into  the  upper  stories  of  their  houses.  On  third  Street  the  water  came 
half  way  up  to  Main,  on  Fourth  Street  nearly  to  Judiciary,  while  it 
reached  Peter  Koehler's  corner  at  the  foot  of  Fifth  Street,  shutting  off 
communication,  except  by  boats  to  "Texas."  In  the  afternoon  the  rise 
was  about  half  an  inch  per  hour.  The  floor  of  the  Main  Street  bridge 
was  covered  before  5  o'clock,  and  the  water  worked  up  in  the  gutter 
opposite  Riddell's  drug  store,  and  up  on  Main  to  McClellan's  blacksmith 
shop.  At  8  o'clock  Tuesday  evening  the  river  came  to  a  stand,  the 
Big  Miami  having  subsided,  and  between  11  and  12  o'clock  it  began  to 
recede,  falling  by  morning  about  eleven  inches,  which  was  a  great  relief 
to  everybody. — Independent,  February  23,  1882. 

While  only  two  or  three  small  dwelling  houses  are  turned  over  at 
this  writing  (Wednesday  evening)  nearly  half  the  houses  in  Aurora  have 
water  in  them,  varying  in  depth  from  the  eave  of  the  roof  of  those 
houses  in  the  low  lands  to  more  than  a  foot  on  the    floor  of  Leive  Bros 

10 


322  HISTORY  OF  DEARBORN  AND  OHIO  COUNTIES. 

jewelry  store,  in  the  opera  bouse  building.  Hundreds  of  dwelling 
houses  will  suffer  more  or  less  damages,  and  will  require  thorough  reno- 
vating when  the  water  goes  down. — Independent,  February  15,  1883. 

"As  we  went  to  press  last  week  the  Ohio  River  was  still  rising  here 
and,  although  it  was  the  last  day  of  its  climbing  up  and  up  to  a  height 
beyond  man's  memory,  the  strangest  thing  was  that  on  that  last  day, 
Wednesday,  February  14,  1883.  it  rose  at  a  rate  equal  to  any  day  after 
it  had  overflown  its  banks.  The  water  continued  to  rise  during  all  of 
Wednesday  and  until  6  o'clock  Thursday  the  loth  inst.,  at  which  time  it 
came  to  a  stand  at  a  point  thirty-three  and  one  half  inches  above  the 
mark  of  the  famous  flood  of  1832." 

The  height  of  the  water  here  as  given  in  last  week's  Independent 
was  good  enough  when  it  was  written  but  was  considerably  surpassed 
before  that  issue  of  the  paper  was  ^read.  Last  Thursday  morning  the 
climax  was  reached.  The  Ohio  Kiver  was  on  the  floor  of  our  postoflSce; 
it  was  five  feet  and  eight  inches  deep  in  O.  P.  Cobb  &  Co.'s  store,  was 
about  two  feet  deep  in  the  First  Baptist  Church,  lacked  only  one  inch  of 
being  in  Schaeffer's  store  on  Third  and  Main  Streets,  was  rippling  in 
Dr.  Bond's  house  on  George  Street,  was  within  two  and  one-half  feet 
of  the  second  floor  of  Gaff's  building  at  the  foot  of  Second  Street;  finally 
was  two  feet  nine  and  one-half  inches  higher  than  anybody  ever  saw  it 
in  Aurora  and  we  have  plenty  of  the  proverbial  "oldest  inhabitants"  too. 
The  water  came  to  a  stand  at  6  A.  M.  Thursday  and  many  a  high  water 
mark  for  February  15,  1883,  was  cut  to  record  the  flood  height  for 
future  generations  to  swim  over.  A  good  mark  is  cut  deep  in  the  second 
step  adjacent  to  the  First  National  Bank;  another  is  chiseled  in  the  iron 
column  of  Mitchell's  building  opposite  the  bank  and  in  innumerable  places 
all  over  town  the  mark  of  this  highest  flood  of  them  all  is  'chalked 
down.'  The  water  was  on  a  stand  for  about  four  hours  when  it  began  to 
recede  &\ovi\^ .—  Independent,  February  22,  1883. 

"We  started  out  to  get  an  estimate  of  individual  losses  of  our  citizens 
by  the  flood,  but  the  work  was  too  great  for  us.  Our  citizens,  both  rich 
and  poor  alike,  have  lost  heavily,  probably,  in  all,  not  much  less  than 
U^O,Om:'— Independent,  February  22,  1883. 

"As  a  result  of  their  precautions,  the  citizens  of  Aurora  will  not 
suffer  nearly  as  much  as  they  did  in  1882  or  in  1883,  and  the  de- 
struction of  property  will  not  be  one-third  as  much  as  in  either  of  those 
years.  W^arning  came  over  the  wires:  'Prepare  for  seventy  feet.' 
That  would  be  three  feet  and  six  inches  more  than  we  had  in  1883,  and 
the  people  lost  no  time  in  preparing.  All  the  people  living  in  houses 
likely  to  be  submerged  moved  into  their  second  stories,  where  they  were 
high  enough,  and  where  this  was  not  the  case  they  abandoned  the  houses 


CITY  OF  AUKORA.  323 

and  moved  to  higher  ground.  All  of  our  merchan